Coming Alive
by Idratherbereading29
Summary: Shortly after finding out the truth about the Cullens Bella finds herself kidnapped by several members of the Volturi guard who have come to offer Edward the deal of joining the guard or facing the consequences of breaking the law. Among the kidnappers is Jasper, whose role and plans are as unclear as those of the VOlturi. Bella finds herself strangely drawn to the Texan vampire.
1. Chapter 1

_**Ok, this is a new story, which has been bouncing around my head for some weeks now. I'm not quite sure where it is going yet, so let's wait and see.**_

_**Reviews are like chocolate and I'm a chocaholic!**_

_**Obviously twilight does not belong to me.**_

1

It's been two days now, I think, and still I'm hoping that I will wake up and it's all been some horrendous nightmare, brought on by the information overload of the last few weeks – moving up to Forks to stay with my dad, finding out that the boy I'm having a huge crush on and his whole family are vampires.

I remember my truck going over the cliff, pushed by one of my captors as if it was a toy car. We didn't even stay long enough to hear the splash it must have made in the ocean, but started running at once, me being carried by one of them. I have no idea who they are or what they want other than that they must be vampires too, but definitely different from the Cullens. They had no problem first killing a girl who looked a little like me, draining her and then placing her in the truck, I presume for my dad to find. If they're faking my death, then they are not planning on returning me here any time soon. Why they needed a replacement for me and didn't just drink me through I don't know or understand. Edward said I smell quite appetizing. If my staying alive is an indication to my chances for survival however, I'm skeptical about that, to say the least.

When I finally got Edward to tell me his secret, I just couldn't believe that they were monsters. I thought it was just him putting himself down, but by now I'm not so sure anymore. The Cullens are nice – well, except maybe for Rosalie – and Alice is absolutely adorable, but these people are… scary. I haven't eaten or slept since they took me from my dad's house, and I'm afraid that while in the beginning I was almost going mad with fear and panic, by now I have given up hope of ever getting out of this nightmarish situation.

"Stop!" The man who had been carrying me since my capture cried out no sooner than I had finished that thought.

"What is it?" The vampire who seemed to be in charge, even though with the exception of the one female he was easily the smallest of the group, appeared next to us.

"We can't keep this up, she needs some rest and food or she won't be any good for anyone." My carrier took me from his back to cradle me in front of him. He was a tall man, taller than Emmett, but lean, and must have been about 20 when he was changed. Up to that moment he had not said a word, but the husky voice with the Southern accent fitted him exactly. Long unruly blond curls kept falling into his black eyes. It had been him I had first seen in my bedroom when they took me, and my first impression had been that an angel had somehow landed there. I could not have been more mistaken, it seemed, because of the whole group it was him I feared most, not in the least because the others kept their distance from him so pointedly. They didn't even call him by his name. Now however, as soon as he had changed my position I began to calm down for the first time in what had seemed forever.

"Do you expect us to go shopping for her?" The female vampire piped up. Jane the others called her, and for all her earnest demeanor and long hooded cloak, she looked about twelve. I was wondering why they had taken a child along for this venture at first, but when they had fed on some unlucky people out trekking, she had killed a man without blinking an eye.

"That might be an idea", my carrier said shrugging. "It's either that or we change her, but I'm not sure how much good that will be while we're running cross country."

"Don't forget yourself!" The leader chided.

"Demetri, I think he is right", the last of my kidnappers, a mountain of a man with a strong Italian accent contradicted. "The humans need their creature comforts. Besides, it would not hurt the plan."

Jane actually giggled – not a comforting sound. "Yes, give the Cullens a chance to catch up with us. There's a Motel over there, we could book in there and then get her some food." She pointed to the left. I could not see a thing, as it was the middle of the night, but that did obviously not cause a problem for the vampires.

Demetri nodded his assent curtly and five minutes later we had two rooms at a crappy roadside Motel.

Once we were settled he turned his piercing red eyes to me. "What do you want?"

"I… I don't know… I'm not that hungry…"

"Don't be stupid!" The blonde vampire said roughly after putting me down on the bed. "You need a hot meal, and probably a sweet drink as well. We'll be travelling for several more days."

I bridled at his tone. "What I need, is a bathroom! Alone!" I added when Jane made to accompany me. The blond vampire rolled his eyes and the big one chuckled. I heard some discussion going on after I had closed the flimsy door, but could not make out what was said.

I needed time to think. So there was some plan behind this whole thing. They actually wanted the Cullens to catch up with us – now the running instead of simply flying out of Seattle made sense, but WHY? Those creatures looked like textbook vampires, complete with black flowing cloaks and red eyes, and unless it was Halloween it was not a very discreet attire. Only my carrier had been wearing sensible clothes, black shirt and dark jeans with soft boots.

When I came out again, they had come to a decision. The blond man took hold of my hand and pulled me toward the door.

"Hey!" I protested at once. My growling stomach underlined my word.

He shook his head at me, sending his curls flying. "What? We're going out for a meal." He dragged me along to a Taco place across the road unceremoniously.

The place was almost deserted at this time of night, except for some truck-drivers well into their third beer. At the counter he ordered a huge meal for me – enough to feed two – and got us a table near the window and away from the other people in the room. As soon as the food was in front of me, I was ravenous and tore through the stuff liked the starved human I was. My opposite watched me with disconcerting unblinking eyes, which I noticed only once I slowed down for desert.

"I know this is disgusting for you", I said. Alice had told me that human food smell turned their stomach.

He gave a short laugh. "Like our feeding habits to you?"

I swallowed and put down my milkshake. "Yeah, thanks for reminding me." Suddenly my appetite was gone, and my feelings must have shown.

"Don't look at me like that, it's you who want to be changed into a vampire", he said with a hard voice.

"To be with someone I love."

Now his laughter was distinctly cynical. "Love? Do you humans still believe in that shit?"

I felt hurt briefly, but then rebutted. "Well, maybe it's just monsters like you who don't. Besides, the Cullens only eat animals." I crossed my arms. No wonder the others did want nothing to do with this person.

"You still don't get it, do you?" He said incredulously. "You're not going back to your happily-ever-after with the Cullens. You're the means to an end, girl."

"To what end?" Would I finally find out what was going on here?

"Aro has long wanted to get back at Carlisle Cullen, and he has been coveting your precious Edward for more than 60 years. Besides, you appear to have some talent as well, which will be much stronger once you're changed."

"I don't understand…"

"You are a pawn in a much greater game here. If Edward wants you, he'll have to come along and join the Volturi, because you are going to. Or he can die for breaking the law, it's up to him." He played with a coaster as if the whole thing was nothing to him.

The Volturi? Vampire police? Edward had told me about them, and it had been clear he did not like them at all. "I… what if I don't want to…?" I was feeling faint.

"Want has nothing to do with it. Finished?" He got up and motioned for me to join him.

I hesitated, not sure if my trembling legs would support my weight. He became impatient and while he was reaching out to pull me up, I managed to get my foot entangled with a table leg, rattling the whole thing and upending everything on the tray.

The vampire caught everything swiftly at superhuman speed before any more chaos could come from my clumsiness and put the tray away. "You are going to make for a very interesting newborn", he sighed steering me through the door.

The sleeve of his shirt had slipped up his arm during the whole thing, and even in the dim light of the parking lot I could see the most horrific marks on his arm. I caught my breath. "What is that?"

"Scars. I thought you'd recognize that." His tone was clipped.

"I know. But… who the hell did that to you?"

For a brief moment I caught his eyes, then he looked away. "None of your business."

I felt incredibly sad suddenly, not for myself, but for this strange man, who seemed to have effectively walled himself in his pain. "I see. Will you at least tell me your name then?"

When he looked back at me a crooked smile lit his featured. "I'm sorry, must have forgotten my manners completely. Jasper Whitlock at your service, Ma'am." He opened the door to our small bungalow.

I smiled back. "Thank you. For the meal, and … the rest."

The smile was gone. "I will bring you to Italy, if it's the last thing I do." With that he retreated into his silence again.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Thanks so much for the reviews – that was lovely. Updates on this story should be weekly or thereabouts – I want to have two chapters written before I put up the next.**_

_**Originally I wanted to write the whole plot from Bella's POV only, but in this chapter I've experimented with something from Jasper. Not sure about that yet, as it might give away too much of what is going on. Tell me what you think!**_

_**Twilight belongs to SM**_

2

Jasper's POV

Fate surely seems to have a funny kind of humor. I had not felt anything but pain these last hundred and fifty years – except for the decade I spent with Peter and Charlotte – and now this pathetic human girl who should be nothing but my ticket to freedom from the Volturi stumbles into my existence and floods me with emotions other than hatred and greed. And fear – the terror I usually cause. She doesn't even seem to fear me, on the contrary, when she saw my scars, she was feeling for me. But then again, she's sadly deranged to want to live with vampires. Well, that wish will definitely be granted, albeit in a different way she wanted it.

However, when she looked at me … it was like being hit in the stomach, which is odd. I haven't felt a hit since 1863, but now it's like she's … inside me. Definitely have to get rid of her asap.

Bella's POV

I was sure I would not be able to sleep, bed or not. These vampires wanted to use me as bait to lure Edward to join the Volturi guard? My only hope was that there were only four of them after all, and that the Cullens would come and safe me somehow.

When we came back to the bedroom assigned to me, only the giant was there. Jasper greeted him curtly. "Felix."

"Has she fed?"

"Yes, I'll put her to sleep now, so we can get on the road again nice and early." Jasper pointed me to the bed.

"Are you out of your mind? How do you think I'm going to sleep with you horrors watching?" The words were out of my mouth before I could think.

Felix smirked. "Oh, signorina Bella, I would not be too worried about sleeping. Jasper will take care of you."

That's it. I rushed at him with fury. "You are absolutely disgusting. Do you know that?"

"Whoa! Easy there", Jasper pulled me back. "Calm down. You're tired and overwrought." He steered me toward the bathroom. "Get cleaned up, and you'll feel better." He closed the door behind me. "I've got it, Felix. I'll deal with her."

"Better you than me", I heard the other man growling. That was the moment my knees gave way. I had just almost attacked a giant vampire, something I would certainly not have survived, and then – I realized – Edward would be running into the trap for nothing. I must have been sitting for quite a while, shocked into numbness. Suddenly I heard a sigh quite close to me. "Bella? Come on, girl, get ready for bed." Jasper dragged a wet washcloth across my face and hands, then bundled me up in his arms like he had been doing when we stopped some hours ago, and carried me to the bed. He pulled up the covers and tucked me in.

I must have looked quizzical and he shrugged. "Used to have a little sister who would never want to go to bed on her own. Sleep tight!" He brushed my cheek with his cold hand in a gesture wholly unexpected, and all the tears I had been storing up since they captured me started flowing. Damn it, the last thing I had wanted was to destroy my dad's and the Cullens' lives like this.

Jasper took a sharp breath. "Oh no, woman, you really need to pony up, I can't have you near me if you turn on the waterworks like that!"

"Then leave me alone already, you unfeeling cold monster!"

For a split second he looked as if he had been slapped in the face, then his eyes became slits. "I thought you knew more about us. What do my eyes tell you?"

"They're black", I stated sheepishly, then drew a sharp breath. He must be starving. "You're thirsty."

He nodded. "So don't stir up trouble. Now let me help you."

"How?"

"Close your eyes, I'll make you sleep."

I was about to protest, when I saw the determined look in his eyes and thought the better. Maybe he would go away once I acted as if I was sleeping and leave me to my thoughts. That was the last thought I had that night, I must have been extremely exhausted to drop of like I did the next moment.

As soon as I had woken up we were on our way again, this time in a car with tinted windows. Apparently we had been travelling south, so the vampires could not be out during the day without attracting notice. While we had been running before, that had not been a problem, because they had been using lonely wooded areas. Now however, they started going by the highway. Once seated in the car, Jasper had handed me a bottle of water. When I thanked him, he turned away at once and ignored me pointedly.

"Any news from Aro?" Felix asked his companions.

Demetri snickered. "Yes, Carlisle contacted him, asking ever so discreetly about his health and the state of his affairs. He must already be on the road following us."

"Good", Felix smiled. "I love a good fight!"

"Vegetarians!" Jane sighed. "Not much of a challenge."

"We'll see."

We drove through the day and the night, stopping at another Motel early in the morning. This time I was left alone with Jasper and Jane while the others went to check the surroundings.

"You stink!" Jane told me languidly. "Take a bath!"

I bridled at that and retorted. "That's not going to be much use without a change of clothes, Miss Prim!" I caught Jasper shaking his head slightly at my remark, then Jane gave me an intense stare.

"What?" I asked. "It's true. I can't do anything about the smell if I get back into filthy things."

Jane made an exasperated noise and left the room, while Jasper sat down and started to look at me interestedly.

"Huh?" What was it with those monsters?

"Nothing. She's right. We'll take care of the clothes, you clean up."

I threw up my arms and ran a bath. At least this place was nicer than the last one, and I used up all their scented bath salts as well as the shampoo to get the dirt of the road off. My bones and muscles also clearly needed the time spent in the warm water, and when I got out again I was all rosy and felt lots better even though my situation had not improved one bit. I wrapped myself in a huge soft towel and padded back into the bedroom.

Laid out on the bed were a t-shirt, a pair of jeans and a dark hoodie, together with socks and underwear. And a pre-packed sandwich plus a bottle of water. Jane must have dashed to a shop in record time. Now I did not know what to do. On the one hand I wanted to get dressed as soon as possible; on the other hand Jasper was still in the room, eyeing me intently. I could feel a deep blush spreading all over my body at the thought of taking off the towel in front of him, especially as for some strange reason that suddenly seemed like a good idea. What was going on with me? I'm not like that with boys or men.

The next second he was close to me, taking in my scent with closed eyes. "You smell absolutely exquisite, and you obviously have no sense of danger to blush like that with a ravenous vampire near." His voice was a seductive purr. Strangely though I did not feel any fear while he was close, on the contrary, I felt warm and …strangely aroused. Jasper came even closer, and he was already lifting my hair away from my neck when the door opened and Demetri came in.

"Leave!" he told Jasper taking in the scene. Jasper turned and left so quickly that I did not see him pass the door. "Felix! Get him to feed at once, this is no good!" Demetri called after him quietly. Then he turned to me. "I'm leaving you in here alone to get dressed. Don't get any thoughts about calling the Cullens; they are already on their way here."

I shook my head. Damn those omniscient vampires! He must have seen me glace at the phone.

I dressed at top speed and had just finished eating the food when Jasper came back. He was glowing slightly, and his eyes were bright red. Even his lips had a slightly rosy hue.

I shuddered. Obviously he had just killed someone.

"What?" he asked once he caught me looking at him. "I need to feed the same as you."

"H-hm", I answered, not sure how to react.

"Should I be draining deer in the middle of a city like those strange Cullen guys you like? I could of course also snatch a poodle from a leash and tear its throat out with its old lady owner watching." Contempt was dripping from his lips.

What was going on with him? He had not been that cold before. I shrugged insecurely, "I don't know…if you could…"

He laughed roughly. "You really think you are in love with one of us, aren't you?"

"Yes, but I don't see how that's your business."

He gave me a look that said I was naïve beyond belief.

I rolled my eyes. "I am. And I also like Edward's family, they are really good people."

He snorted. "Good people?! You must think we're housecats. We're predators, we kill. And we don't live in families, we might band up to hunt, but we don't have … families!"

I felt hurt at his tone, but there seemed to be more behind the rant than met the eye. "You haven't met them."

He sighed. "I believe I will if everything goes according to plan." He turned away.

After a moment he looked at me again, this time with a crooked smile that made me go weak at the knees. He was next to me in a second, closing his eyes in appreciation at my scent – at least I hoped that's what it was.

"Jasper?" He had eaten, hadn't he? What did he want now?

The tall lean vampire purred. "You draw me to you like no human before." He started curling up to me. "So warm and soft. You're incredible." He continued to purr like a huge contented cat, while his hands started wandering under my shirt.

My sharp intake of breath stopped him at once. He looked at me quizzically. "You are scared. Why?"

I didn't get the opportunity to say anything. "You don't need to fear me, darlin'. You're the only one who doesn't."

I was still tense, so he stepped back, looking slightly insulted.

"It's not because I'm a vampire, you already know our cold hands. Hmm", he seemed to listen to my heart, though what good that would be, I didn't know. Suddenly he chuckled. "You're a virgin." He shook his head in disbelief, aggressive now suddenly. "I don't get it. That Cullen guy has you wanting to be turned and he doesn't even fuck you! What an idiot!" Before I could say anything he had me pinned to the wall grinding against me. "Let me show you what…"

Finally the penny dropped. "Stop! You're drunk… and disgusting. Let me go at once!" I hissed. Why I did not simply scream for the other vampires to step in, I don't know. However, my assessment had done the trick. He appraised me once more from hair to toenails and then he was gone in a flash.

What the hell was it with that man? I had had the predator speech from Edward several times by now, so that was nothing new. But the way Jasper's moods changed was more than erratic, completely unpredictable. Maybe that's why the others avoided him. But why take him along on this kidnapping stunt then?


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry folks, I was too sick to post last weekend, and during the week there is no way I can find the time. Without further ado… here goes:

3

Jasper's POV

Tear into her. Taste her blood, drain her slowly and savor the taste with every fiber of my being. Get my teeth into her creamy neck and suck the life out of her while my poison runs in her veins. Burrow into her like the beast I am.

Drunk? You have no idea just how drunk I am, how drunk I could get on your blood, darlin'. I'm not having you leave with some pathetic guy who is posing as a preppy 17 year-old and who has no idea what to do with a woman.

Huh?

Where does all that come from? What do I care about who she's with? I have to get her to Aro, it's the only chance I have to be master of myself again. Get her to Volterra, then try to get back to Peter and Charlotte for my last wish. This human girl does not figure in that plan any other way.

Surely she must be shield, quite a strong one, if she can block out Jane like she did. Most of the time I'm not sure I'm getting through to her and if it is her emotions I which are driving me mad or my own. Best stay away from her, before anyone gets ideas about hiring me for her newborn phase.

She's just… oh, what the hell…

Bella's POV

I was left alone for the rest of the day – apparently none of the others wanted to keep the strange human company. Or after I had insulted all the underlings there was simply no one left and Demetri certainly thought me way below his notice. After two hours I was almost climbing the walls with boredom – I've never been one for watching cable TV – when I finally found my iPod lying on the nightstand. Jane must have gotten it out of my jeans pocket. I plugged my ears and lay down on the bed, trying to lose myself in the music.

"What is that thing?" Jasper's voice was coming from my left after a while.

I swallowed. What version of this madman would I get now? I opened my eyes and saw him lounging in a chair next to the bed looking at me intently.

"What thing?" At least he seemed to have sobered down.

He pointed to my ears and the iPod. "That. I see a lot of humans walking around with their ears plugged – is that something against the noise of modern times?"

I chuckled. "Not exactly. It's for listening to music. Where have you been the last few years?"

At that question he looked away but not before I had seen the expression on his face, which was so full of pain that I felt as if someone had hit me. He had been hurt, badly, which made me incredibly angry. In fact, I wanted to lash out at whoever had been that cruel to him. Huh? Something was wrong with me. Was that Stockholm syndrome, identifying with my kidnapper? Why did it seem that I had a bond with this moody, cynical human-drinking vampire? Maybe they had let me drop and I hit my head sometime during the run.

"Listening to music? How?" Jasper sounded interested. Actually that was the first time he had come out of his "don't give a damn about the world" attitude.

I shrugged and handed him the earplugs. He put them in eagerly, and I scrolled around to find something for him to listen to. What would be interesting for him? I gave up and made a random choice. "Like that." I handed him the little machine. "Pick something you like." I explained how to navigate the menu.

He got into it with enthusiasm, totally lost in the music, scrunching up his face at some of it, but mostly tapping his foot to the rhythm and smiling. Smiling widely. Then laughing infectiously, like a little child. The transformation was amazing. While he had obviously been vampire-beautiful, now he became the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. 'Bella!' I called myself to order, but was interrupted in my thoughts by "This is great. Just … wonderful! Wow!"

I smiled at him. "I take it you like music."

"Of course. It's one of the best things humans have ever invented. It's what makes us tick. At least the best of us." He smiled nostalgically. "I even know some the stuff you have on here."

"How come you don't have one of those yourself?" I asked before I could stop myself.

"I… wasn't around the last twenty years, but I don't want to talk about that. Who are those Dixie Chicks? They sound like they're from Texas."

I nodded. "They sound like you, I noticed."

We talked music for hours after that, like normal people, which was kind of surreal given the circumstances. However, we were soon brought back down to earth when Felix came in and told us to get moving.

"Why move now? She could sleep here much more comfortably than on the road", Jasper started to intervene, but was silenced by a curt. "No!" There was a brief exchange between him and Felix, but I could not make out single words and they were talking too quietly for me to understand them anyway.

"What's going on?" I whispered while being bundled into the car again.

"Demetri has tracked the Cullens. They're comin' for you, and we'd better take the fight somewhere where there are no humans", Jasper whispered back.

I froze. "I don't want a fight. I don't want anyone to get hurt."

"Not your choice, I'm afraid. Get involved with vampires, you get into this whole thing. Don't worry, darlin', no one will touch you."

"Because you will get me to Italy", I answered in a bitter voice.

He blinked before giving me a hard stare. "Yes, exactly." Then he turned silent again. All of a sudden I felt drowsy and must have drifted off to sleep – which is strange, I can never sleep in cars, but there it was.

I woke up when the car stopped in the middle of a forest. There was some kind of hunting lodge near, and Jasper picked me up unceremoniously to carry to the little house.

"I can walk on my own, you know." I objected.

"Not a good idea", he said, putting me down inside. "Stay!" He commanded in a voice that sounded like a general giving orders.

I started. Did that mean that a fight was about to begin? I snuck back out and hid on the porch, from where I could see what was going on in the clearing.

My captors had fanned out around the lodge and were crouching in preparation of a fight. I thought I saw Jasper shake his head slightly. Apparently he had smelt me coming out, but was not going to do anything about my blithely ignoring his command.

I was tense, probably as tense as the vampires, waiting for what would happen. I just hoped against hope that no one would get hurt, and that we would somehow get out of this nightmarish situation.

Suddenly the vampires started growling as if in warning, then something hurtled at me with the speed of light, only to be stopped by Demetri and Jasper. Edward, alone. Jasper pinned him to the floor by his neck while Demetri looked down at him with an arrogant stare.

"Will you behave?" He asked languidly.

Edward hissed at him. "Give her back! She has nothing to do with you and whatever problems you have with my father!"

"Somehow I don't think you're in the position to negotiate, wouldn't you agree?" Demetri observed and signaled to Jasper to let Edward stand. "It's you after all who has broken the law, isn't it? We have every right to do exactly as we please."

"If this was about the law, you would have killed her in Forks and been done with it instead of sending your minions to get us on a wild goose chase. So let her go and kill me if you're so intent on punishing me." I had never seen Edward this angry, and I have to admit he was not cutting a particularly good figure. He reminded me of a little boy throwing a tantrum.

My captors obviously agreed with that assessment and Demetri sighed. "Believe me, if it was up to me, I would do it according to the law and kill you and your human right now, but Aro wants to do things differently. Now will you listen?"

Edward scowled and crossed his arms, indicating he would listen if Jasper let him go. Demetri nodded his head to Jasper, and Edward came over to me at once. "Are you alright, love? Did they hurt you?"

"She's fine", said Jasper in a contemptuous voice. He looked extremely angry about the whole thing.

I nodded to that but Edward insisted on pushing me behind him and facing everyone with a challenging stare.

Demetri sighed. "Ok, listen. Aro sends his regards and tells you to either agree to join his guard with Bella once she is turned or face the consequences of your unlawful actions with the rest of your coven."

"You cannot force me to join the Volturi!"

"So you will defy Aro in addition to breaking the law?"

"I won't have Bella turned into a vampire!"

"Are you listening? Aro is offering you eternal life with your mate."

"Bella is not becoming a vampire!" Edward maintained stubbornly. He was not even checking with me if I agreed with his choice for my future, if I still had one.

Demetri shook his head in disbelief. "As you wish. Felix?"

The huge vampire was with us the next moment, but Edward pushed me back and started fighting him viciously. For the next few minutes nothing but flying limbs and dust could be seen, then Felix had Edward on the floor, ready to twist off his head.

"Stop!" I cried. I had not expected anyone to listen and was surprised when everyone, including Demetri looked at me. "I mean", I said, flustered by the first time my opinion was wanted in the context of vampire matters. "This is about me, right? So I should have a say in it as well."

"Bella, you don't know what you're talking about", Edward said in that infuriatingly patient voice of his he always uses with me when he is talking about vampire stuff.

"Great, so I'm just supposed to look on while you're being slaughtered? Is that what you want? At least ask for time to talk about this together." I was getting really pissed off by Edward's high-handed attitude by now.

Before Edward could answer something small came flying at the group out of nowhere, and for the next five minutes the vampires looked like people trying to swat at an elusive annoying fly that always manages to get out from under your hands. Jane was spitting mad, Demetri was shouting instruction left and right and Felix tried fighting. Then he suddenly stopped, threw his head back and started laughing.

"What is this?" Demetri asked exasperatedly.

Felix looked as if he needed to wipe tears of laughter from his eyes. "A very small vampire, like a pixie. Obviously gifted with some kind of foresight." He swatted about him once more. "Hey, that tickled!"

Alice dropped out of a tree onto Felix' shoulders. "Just to teach you, you can't win against us all."


	4. Chapter 4

_Hello Everybody!_

_I know I'm a little late in updating, but at least I made it this weekend – hooray. Thank you for all the nice reviews, you keep me going._

_Twilight obviously does not belong to me, I just want to play with it…_

4

The huge vampire's face broke into an ethereal smile. "Cara, why should I fight against you?" He was looking at Alice with so much love that just being there felt like an intrusion into their private life.

Edward's and my reaction to Alice appearing on the scene was very different: While I was happy to see her and became much more confident about getting out of this situation alive, Edward screamed at her angrily: "Alice! What the hell are you doing here?"

My best friend kissed Felix' nose and grinned. "I knew I would meet him soon, but I wasn't sure where. Then I saw him here, so I simply had to come along."

"Can I take it from this… display that you are going to join us voluntarily?" Demetri addressed himself to Alice. "Assuming of course that you came with Edward and are a member of the Cullen coven as well." He raised an enquiring eyebrow at Alice.

While Edward growled at this remark, Alice nodded and smiled disarmingly. "I'm sure I want to spend the rest of my time with Felix. He is my true mate, and I've seen him coming for a long time."

"Good, that's settled then", Demetri turned to Edward again. "Your 'sister' seems to have more talent in negotiating. Maybe you should consider her views and talk your joint fate through with her. I'll leave you to that."

"But only if we have privacy", Alice purred. "It's no good to agree on a negotiating position if you know you are being listened to."

Demetri stared at her, but she just shrugged. "I know that's what you wanted, and I know that no good will come of that decision." She curled up to Felix. "He can come with us."

Jane made an exasperated sound but let us leave for a clearing next to the one with the cabin.

When we stopped and Edward put me down, I shook my head. "Why would they let us leave? What is to stop us from running away right now?"

"Demetri is the best tracker in the vampire world, he will find us and kill all of us", Edward told me in clipped tones. It was obvious he was livid. He was looking at Alice as if he was going to tear her to pieces. "Are you out of your mind? We had the advantage with them not knowing you existed before, now you've gone and told them what you can do and that you're going to join them. And for what? For him?"

Felix growled under his breath, a sound so frightening that I was absolutely ready to believe Edward's talk about monsters about Felix at once. My best friend however was completely unfazed by her brother's anger. She simply looked at Edward with a cocked eyebrow, then said: "I really think we should do this in writing, otherwise neither Bella nor Felix will know what we decide."

"I'm not telling that creature any of our plans!" Edward was pouting.

I think at that I might have growled a little, which elicited another wide smile from Felix (he looked much nicer than before Alice had arrived), while Alice simply shrugged. "When will you learn that it's no good to bet against me, little brother? Felix will do nothing which puts us in danger."

Edward narrowed his eyes and spent a good few minutes staring at Alice, then he got out his notebook and started writing.

'I am not going to join the Volturi, and it looks as if Carlisle's influence is no good either. What do you suggest?'

'I'm not about to go to Italy and live off humans either, and I have not seen either of us doing that so far,' Alice wrote in her elegant tiny script.

'And I am going wherever you are, so if you want to leave, I'll leave as well, but there is a problem with that apart from Demetri's talent,' Felix scrawled. 'Have you heard of the God of War?' He looked at Edward for some minutes, and my boyfriend froze.

'WHAT IS GOING ON?' I shouted using Edward's pen.

"Nothing that should concern you, love", Edward said silkily, but I shrugged his hand off and snorted. He shrugged and started writing:

'That Texan is one of the most dangerous vampires in the world. He is a ruthless killer, and…'

I chuckled, remembering Jasper smiling and tapping his foot to music. "No way."

Edward rolled his eyes. 'He has killed thousands, vampires and humans alike. There is no fighting against him.'

I frowned and turned to Alice.

She scrunched up her pretty nose. 'He hasn't decided what he is going to do, so I'm blind.'

Felix scoffed, and Edward wrote: 'He has been a slave of the Volturi for the past thirty years; he has been conditioned by Jane to only feed when he's allowed to…' He flinched when he saw my enquiring look at that and sighed.

'Jane can cause unimaginable pain, and they had to break him', Felix wrote and shrugged at Edward. "She should know who she's dealing with."

Edward shook his head. 'He has been the monster they let off the leash whenever they wanted to show what terror they are capable of.'

I was not ready to buy that. Granted, Jasper was strange, but somehow… I felt different about him. 'What's in it for him if he does not kill me and drag me to Italy instead?'

Felix smiled. 'His freedom. He has been promised to be let go on getting you for Aro.'

"But what on God's green earth could they possibly want with me?" I shouted exasperatedly.

'Aro thinks you're a shield, that is, you can deflect other vampires' talents, like mine for example.' Edward looked at me sadly. "You also give him leverage over me by making me choose between my family and doing what I want, i.e. not joining them. I'm so, so sorry I put you in this situation, love, and I promise I will use any means necessary to prevent you from ending up with the Volturi."

He had barely finished the sentence, when we heard a growl unlike any other I had ever heard before. It made Edward shudder.

"What was that?" I asked Alice who had also started visibly.

"That was the Texan", she said in a small voice. "It seems he has some way of finding out what's going on here."

"How?" I asked.

"He is eh… como se dice… he can read your emotions as well as influence them", Felix answered much to Edward's chagrin. To my amusement he was gesticulating while he was talking, like the Italian he probably had been before he was turned. Meeting Alice certainly had loosened him up, he almost looked human sometimes. But what did that mean about the emotions? Was that why I had all these strange feelings near Jasper? I drifted off into my thoughts and only came back to earth when Alice stamped her little foot in frustration.

"I think this is going to be complicated." She took the pen from her brother. 'I'm afraid we'll have to face the fact that he is the only way out of this. I don't see us doing anything against him successfully.'

'You want to turn that stubborn s.o.b.?' Felix looked stunned. 'We couldn't get him to join the guard against his will, that's why we had to break him. And that took some time.'

'I suggest we start by killing Jane and Demetri. We need to contact the others, safety in numbers, especially if Felix is on our side now,' Edward wrote. He tried to project confidence, but I was not sure he really felt it.

Felix drew Alice closer to him and shook his head writing 'You have no idea what you're talking about, my boy, I'm not fighting against Jasper with Alice near. He can take us all.'

"We seem to have reached an impasse", Edward remarked stiffly.

Alice shook her head from side to side and took up the pen once more. 'I'm not sure about that. If that is what they wanted, why are we still here then? We should be on a plane to Italy this very moment, not waiting around in California.'

'I have been wondering about that myself', Felix scrawled, 'But Demetri has been playing his cards very close to the chest on this assignment. I thought it was because we were giving Jasper such leeway, but there might be another reason for it. He has been conferring with Volterra regularly, so maybe he is waiting for some other order from Aro.'

Edward looked at Alice, trying to tap her resources, but she just shrugged and wrote: 'I've never met Aro; I'm not seeing any decisions, thus no outcomes. I'm not seeing anything apart from the fact, that we need the Texan to get out. If we try it against him, we're all dead.'

There was some more bickering back and forth about it, not going anywhere and basically repeating itself for another hour, then we were interrupted by Jasper himself appearing with a dark expression on his beautiful face.

Edward pushed me behind him at once, at which Jasper raised an eyebrow.

"Stay away from Bella!" Edward hissed.

Jasper ignored him and addressed me directly. "You need to feed and drink or you'll get sick. Come on, Jane went to get some food for you."

"She's going nowhere with you", Edward spit when I tried to move.

Jasper shrugged. "Fine by me, but in a moment Demetri will come to get her anyway." He was gone at vampire speed.

"Eh – Edward?" I addressed my boyfriend.

"Yes, my love?" His voice was as silky as usual, but he could not hide the fact that he was still spitting mad.

"I really am hungry. Maybe we could go back to the others and…"

"Of course we will get you something to eat. I'm so sorry I forgot your human needs again. Did they get you anything edible at all? You…"

Alice interrupted her brother with an exasperated sigh. "Just go, ok? Jasper said they have some food for her. Besides, it is not as if we're making any progress here." She took Felix' big hand into her small one and started walking back toward the cabin.

I followed her thankful that Edward could not read my thoughts. His overprotective and overbearing attitude was getting on my nerves, and I wanted some time with my best friend Alice to talk about her brother – not that that was our main problem here.

When we got back to the cabin, Jane handed me a wrapped sub, some fruit and a bottle of water unceremoniously and left as fast as she could. Obviously she was not one of those vampires who watch humans eat for entertainment like the Cullens were. As soon as I had the food in my hands, I realized how hungry I was again, and almost inhaled it. I was just putting the lid back onto the empty bottle when I caught Jasper's eyes: He was watching me with an amused smile, dangling a chocolate bar between his fingers.

I still could not believe what the others had been saying about him and decided not to be daunted by their talk, so I grinned back and asked: "Will you give that to me or do you want me to dare you to eat it yourself?"

He kept up his crooked grin and dared me to come and get it. I shrugged and got up from the steps I had been sitting on to walk towards him, when Edward stopped me by holding out his arm.

I rolled my eyes at him and went to get the little treat which earned me an admiring look from Felix and another lecture from Edward, which I ignored blissfully cocooned in my chocolate high.

The late afternoon sun had come out, so I leant back against the cabin's walls and closed my eyes for a while, feeling filled and peaceful – strange, I know, but then I've never been known to be normal in my appreciation of danger. I felt completely at peace with the world, and suddenly I started wondering how it would feel to run my fingers through Jasper's silky locks. Confused I opened my eyes and looked around. The vampires were standing around as still as only they can manage, except for Felix and Alice who looked at each other hungrily for a moment before they disappeared into the forest at top speed.

Jasper was looking at me from under half-closed eyes. I blinked and broke eye contact, not sure what to make of his challenging stare. Another thought came to my mind unbidden: I really liked the shape of his lips. Were they really as cold as Edward's? In any case I was sure that his kisses would not be as chaste as Edward's; they would be hot, demanding and full of promise. His hands would explore my body with passionate urgency and…

My thoughts were interrupted by a slight moaning sound, which – I realized with some embarrassment – must have come from me. I swallowed and sat up straight, just in time to see Edward rushing to Demetri with a determined expression.

Now what?

_Sorry to leave you with a cliffhanger, but I had to cut this chapter at some point… to be continued next weekend _


	5. Chapter 5

_**Hi again! Thanks for all the nice feedback for the last chapter – I needed that. Well, my Jasper is a little dark in this story, so enjoy…**_

5

Bella's POV cont'd

Edward was talking to Demetri in a voice too low for me to understand, but his body language clearly showed that he was complaining. Demetri listened carefully, then he moved to Jasper in a flash and picked him up by the scruff of his neck like one would an unruly puppy or kitten. The gesture looked bizarre, considering that Jasper probably had a foot of height on the Volturi, but I had been told that age makes all the difference with vampires. Besides, the guard members were definitely better fed than Jasper – I had never seen any of them with black eyes.

Demetri dumped Jasper in the middle of the clearing next to the cabin and nodded to Jane. She took her time to stroll toward Jasper who remained tense and huddled on the ground. When she had reached him however, she fixed her eyes on him and leisurely said "Pain!" in her little girl voice.

The effect of this could not have been more of a contrast: Jasper snapped back onto his back and started writhing in pain so much that soon only his heels and shoulders were touching the floor. He was not making a sound apart from a groan from between gritted teeth which gave away just how much he was hurting.

I was frozen to the spot interror at the first sight of this spectacle, then I acted from instinct and dashed in between Jane and her helpless victim screaming "Stop! Don't do this!" The small vampire did not even flinch and continued her cruel game.

Edward tried to get to me to drag me away presumably, but Demetri stopped him short, so he was reduced to shouting for me to leave, which I ignored.

I could not bear to see anyone hurt, let alone this man who had already suffered so much, and repeated my pleas for them to stop torturing Jasper. For one brief moment it seemed to work, Jasper slumped on the ground again, breathing hard. Then Alice came out of nowhere and snatched me away literally from under Demetri's hands with an expression so determined that my angry reaction stuck in my throat.

"Interesting!" Demetri said, looking at me intently before giving Jane a signal to continue.

"How can you hurt him like that?" I screeched at the leader now that he was directly in front of me. "Make her stop!" I tried struggling out of Alice's arms in vain. By now Jasper had started screaming like a wounded animal.

Demetri brought his face up close to mine and gave me haughty stare: "Don't ever presume to interfere in Volturi matters again! Do you understand? I can have her do that to him all day if I feel like it, and I can use your boyfriend for the same amusement if he remains stubborn about the two of you joining the guard." I shook under his stare and turned my face away. Alice held me as I wept tears of frustration and shock.

Edward joined her and tried to calm me down, but I could not stop crying until Jasper's screams finally faded after what appeared to be the longest hour in my life so far. When I looked up then, I noticed that Alice was really angry at her brother, too angry to use their private communication. "You are such an idiot!" she spit.

"Excuse me?!" Edward was all innocence.

"How could you do such a thing? Ratting on the one person we need to get out of this? Emmett would have done better!"

"What are you…" They took no notice of me. By now Felix had also arrived on the scene, looking slightly puzzled and – I noticed at the back of my mind – with his shirt inside out and back to front.

"He was happily planning how to sleep with my girlfriend, elaborately so. He was projecting his wanton thoughts all over the place!" Edward was fuming.

"We kind of caught that", Felix said dryly fishing a twig out of Alice's hair.

Edward ignored him as well. "He was having sex dreams about Bella, as if she'd ever let him anywhere near herself. He is a monster, utterly despicable!"

Alice made an exasperated sound. "Yes, well, big surprise. She's probably the only female he's seen these last I don't know how many years that he doesn't have to kill, besides, what healthy male wouldn't crush on her? I just don't see how telling on him to his superior is going to help us here. Apart from the fact that Demetri has now accomplished to scare Bella into complying with them for fear about you!" She thrust her cell phone into his hand. "Here, you call Carlisle and have him lean on Aro for old times' sake. I'm out of ideas."

As with everything he did not want to face, Edward ignored her too and took me on: "How could you get into the middle of all this? Now they know for certain that you are a shield, a strong one, too, if you could actually block Jasper from Jane for a second. There's no way they are letting you go now!"

I blinked. "What did you expect me to do? So far Jasper has been the only one who was nice to me. And you know I can't watch anyone being hurt." I shook my head. "Did you actually hope Demetri would punish him like that? Was that what you wanted?" I felt faint. That was the first time that Edward truly acted like the monster he always claimed to be. I shuddered and moved away from him.

Alice raised her eyebrows and hugged me. "Calm down, Bella, I'm sure we'll work it out."

"I really don't see how", I whispered. Can you leave me alone for a second? I need a human moment if that is possible around here." Most of all, I wanted some vampire free time, because I was not too sure about them anymore. Alice had simply taken up with the giant Volturi whom she had never seen before and promised to go wherever he went, and Edward… well, Edward certainly no longer seemed as nice or perfect as my imagination had made him before. Without this whole thing hanging over us, it think I might have told him to get lost, but that did not look a viable option any longer. And what about Jasper? What was he doing fantasizing about me just because I did not run away from him screaming. Really!

I stumbled toward the cabin to check out the sanitary arrangements. My eyes had to get used to the sudden dark of the interior so I ran smack dab into a wall, at least that's what it felt like. Only this wall talked.

"Oh, it's you again." Jasper's voice, usually dark and husky, came out like a hiss.

I swallowed. "Yes. I… I'm sorry about…"

"I don't need you to feel sorry about me." His eyes were slits, and now I could believe the stories about him.

I tried to take a quick step back and caught my foot on the door jamb. "Damn!" I cursed under my breath. Before I could fall flat on my back though, Jasper's arms quickly steadied me.

"Watch where you're going, why don't you!" He said.

My thanks got stuck in my throat. What had I done to him? "I did not tell Edward to get you into trouble; I think you could probably tell that. But maybe I would be a good idea to keep your thoughts to yourself, especially if they are… well… about me."

He snorted. "I was not thinking about you. I was just recalling my last kill. She looked a bit like you, come to think of it…" The seductive whisper again and I suddenly felt his cold hand softly stroking the side of my face.

By now my head was pounding. "You know what? I don't need any neurotic vampires. Ever. In my life. Assuming I'll still have one once you've delivered me to your boss in Volterra. By the way, what's the delay? Shouldn't we be on a plane right now?"

Before he could answer, Felix came to get him. "Demetri wants to talk to you. And for heaven's sake leave her alone! You're literally looking for trouble, man."

Without giving me another look Jasper was gone like a flash.

_**Sorry this is so short, folks, but this way at least it's up with just one week delay. Have fun and leave a review! **___


	6. Chapter 6

_**Again late in updating, it'S becoming a running gag, but this last chapter was a real b**** to write. I also had to prepare something for the Frankfurt Book Fair (I want to get a publisher for my original stories – wish me luck!)… anyway, here goes…**_

6

Jasper's POV

Pain. Again. I should be used to it by now; they've had me at their pleasure for so long that I barely remember a time without it. Which would be the time spent with Maria, so that would not be a whole lot better anyway. Only this time it was worse. I felt Bella's pain as well, and for the first time I really broke and started screaming and showing just how much they were hurting me. Damn! I hate feeling weak and vulnerable. I need to get away from this girl as fast as possible or she will be my ruin, messing with my mind the way she does.

Of course she ran into me a short time later, apologizing and feeling sorry for me as if I needed that on top of everything else. I don't. The only thing I need is to finish this assignment and then get to Peter. Finally! Maybe he can save me a second time.

I approached Demetri warily, wondering what new devilries he had planned for me now. The girl had been right – of course. Why were we still here? This preppy Edward guy had arrived, there was no way he would leave Bella alone, so all of Aro's objectives were achieved. I seriously doubted Edward would have the stamina to say no to the guard for long, especially once they set onto the girl. He might be quixotic enough to try and kill her, lusting for her blood as he was, but that would not get him out of it. Ugh – who is feeling that angry around here? That was enough to almost knock me off my feet.

Anyway, that still left the question of the delay. Surely we did not want to wait for the entire Cullen coven to arrive, did we? Our intel had been off on them before, cf. the pixie soothsayer. If I was in charge here, I would not risk another gaffe but get a move on asap.

"Yes?" I asked when I saw the leader of the little band of Volturi.

"Aro has contacted me again. He wants the girl changed here, because he thinks her scent would be too much of a temptation if she arrived at the castle as a human."

"Aha?" I asked with a dark premonition. I was sure he was lying about having spoken to Aro for a second time. And: What did he want from me now? Did he want me to change her? For a brief moment that did not feel wrong, quite the contrary, it seemed the natural thing to do – my venom in her blood. I shook my head irritated. This time Jane's treatment had definitely fried my brain. Better to get back to the problem at hand. "Do you want her on the plane while she's changing? That would not be inconspicuous with the airport authorities." We usually used a private jet going to places, but obviously we had to pass the human employees on the airfields.

"I don't remember asking your opinion on this", Demetri answered in the haughty tone which he used regularly to remind me of my status. "We need you to take care of her while she's changing and in the first few days after. I understand you have some experience doing this."

For some reason I started shaking for a few seconds. Then I had myself under control again. "Ok. You want me to change her right now?" Bella had come out of the cabin again and was standing by herself near the door, watching what we were doing. From the corner of my eye I noticed the Cullens had become very agitated at our talk, with the male arguing with the female very quietly. Then of course Edward rushed to Bella and whisked her behind him – as if he would be a match for any of us here, no matter how arrogantly he grinned at being able to read out thoughts.

I felt pure panic from Bella for the first time; apparently she was not sure that the Cullens were any help for her any longer. Maybe she had understood by now just how dangerous our kind was for her.

There – another burst of uncontrolled anger. Where was that coming from? I concentrated on finding the source of the emotion but could not make it out before Demetri interrupted my musing.

"I'm sure Edward will want to change her himself" he said confidently.

"NO!" This time a wave of fury came at me from God knows where, and with a start I realized that it had been me screaming and I was standing in front of Bella. A crashing sound nearby was made by Edward, whom I seemed to have thrown up into a tree and who was just falling back to the ground. I caught a brief flash of amusement from Felix, who was hiding his face in Alice's hair, then Demetri threw me down on the floor once again.

"Explain!" he ordered in a voice beyond anger.

I knew I was risking another session with Jane, whose eagerness I could already feel near me, so I did not raise my head when I told him: "She is his singer. If he bites her, she's dead and definitely lost for Aro. I can feel his bloodlust from here. Besides, he's never changed anyone before."

Demetri snorted contemptuously. "Is he right?"

I raised my head, as he must be addressing Edward now.

Edward gave a short arrogant nod, glaring at me with barely disguised hatred, his arm around Bella again.

"Fine. Jasper will do it then." At Edward's immediate protest Demetri stopped him with a stare: "It's your choice: she is changed or killed. Take your pick!"

Edward turned toward the girl and looked at her earnestly. "Bella, love, I am so sorry, but I won't take it upon me to be responsible for you losing your immortal soul or standing by while this happens. My staying would only result in exacerbating the situation into my talent aiding the business of the Volturi which I won't do…"

"EDWARD, NO!" the small black-haired vampire screamed. She was absolutely disgusted, I could feel, but he blithely ignored her.

"… You know I always felt that you did not belong in my world though of course I never meant to be proven right this way. However, I think it's best if I make sure you have chance of escaping this fate." With that he reached out to hit her, and even though I expected to hear her scream of death there was no sound other than the metallic ripping of vampire limbs being torn coming at me through a blinding haze of rage. Alice was holding Bella close by – she must have torn her away just seconds before Edward's hand contacted her head.

"What the…?" Demetri said looking at me standing over Edward whose arms I seemed to have taken off. Then he caught himself. "Ok, quick reaction. Now get to work!"

I took an unnecessary breath to steady myself. Something was definitely off here. Was I going insane, becoming a raging schizophrenic now?

Bella was staring at me open-mouthed. Then she slowly shook her head and blinked. Alice hugged her again, but Bella shook her off. She looked like someone hoping to wake up from a nightmare. I knew that look, I had seen it plenty of times by those who had finally realized what they had gotten themselves into once they had realized they were now part of the vampire world. Something made me want to comfort her, but if she refused her friend's hug, then she would obviously want nothing from me. I dropped Edward's arms next to him and stepped aside.

"I'll deal with him later." Demetri turned to me. "Are you sure you have fed enough to be able to change her?" he asked in a voice which was completely business-as-usual.

I snorted. "Since when are you interested in that?"

"Don't get cheeky. You were growling like a hungry dog just now", he hissed. "Ready?"

I closed my eyes briefly and went back to get Bella away from Alice. Something was tearing me apart from inside, and as was becoming a really disconcerting habit I had no idea where that emotion was coming from.

Alice was definitely reluctant to hand over her friend – there must be something to that story about the Cullens being different, but after a minute she looked at me with her piercing golden eyes. "You won't hurt her, I'm sure of that. Otherwise I would fight you tooth and nail."

"Sure", I nodded and carefully started carrying Bella over to the cabin with me.

Before I reached it, I was interrupted by the biggest surprise so far: Peter walked up to me, bear-hugged me like an old friend, then stood beside me at a slight angle, shoulder to shoulder, as if we were in a battle. What was he up to now?

"Pete?" I put my question into one word. Why would he leave his mate and go to me while I was still the Volturi's prisoner? They would only take him as well, which would help nobody.

"Hey there, Major. Heard you were in the neighborhood from an old friend. She said she is expectin' you soon. Actually, she's on her way here to meet you. Ain't that the strangest coincidence?"

_**This looked like a good place to stop and take a deep breath before starting the next chapter**_

_***ducks under the table – peeps out after a minute* don't you think so, too?**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**Hi everyone! Without further ado: Chapter…**_

…7

Bella's POV

It was all over in a whirlwind of dust and growling in a matter of minutes.

The tall blond vampire with the Texan accent who had appeared out of nowhere looked at Jasper, Jasper said "Now!" and then the fighting started so fast that I could not really see what was going on. I saw the other guy throw a lighter to Jasper, who then lit two piles of what looked like limbs on fire with a wild scream and dropped to his knees for a minute.

Then I realized that Felix was holding me, his right arm around my neck. Jasper was up again and walking toward us, looking like an avenging angel, glorious in his rage. Next to me Alice was frantic, pulling at Felix to let me go, but he pushed her behind himself and said: "No. She is the only one here he gives a damn about, she is our ticket out."

"What are you waiting for?" the other Texan was about to attack Felix and I was sure that no matter how many times I had gotten out of being killed so far, this was the end. Edward was still on the ground without his arms. The Volturi seemed to be no match for these guys – Felix had been right, there was no winning against them – by now I had realized that the two burning pyres were what was left of Demetri and Jane – but Jasper shook his head.

"Let her go!" he told Felix in a voice not unlike the command tone I had heard him use once before.

"Only if Alice and I go free. I have no intentions of going back to Volterra, but I don't want to become ash after just having found my mate", the giant Volturi answered in an even voice. "If you move against us, the girl is dead. So will you let us go?"

Huh? This was about me? Again? What did these creatures want with me? Wait – why was Felix' threatening to kill me stopping the fight?

"Major?" The other Texan did not look too pleased about the arrangement.

"Alright", Jasper held out his hand for me and Felix pushed me toward him, still protectively in front of Alice. "You should move from here if you don't want to cross a newborn army", told them in parting. I felt cold arms picking me up, then the strange yet familiar sensation of wind through my hair while being carried by a running vampire.

My mind was on information overload and I was not sure about anything any longer. Edward had been ready to kill me a little while ago, he had been about to do it himself. So much for us spending the rest of our lives together, he had felt I was no good for his world all along. Now he was in pieces on the ground thanks to Jasper, but I found that I did not care much about him any longer. Much as that hurt, I had to agree with him in so far though as what I was seeing of that world with the Volturi and these fighting badass Texans was so far removed from anything I wanted from life that I really just wanted to wake up from this nightmare. And what was a newborn army?

We came to a stop at a parking lot near the highway where a truck with tinted windows was waiting with the engine running. A petite female vampire with long white blonde hair was at the wheel. She sighed with relief at seeing us and drove off at top speed as soon as we were inside.

Jasper put me down carefully in the back seat and buckled me up. Then he turned his head to look of the window. He had not calmed down from the awe-inspiring rage yet.

"What's this?" The girl in front asked. "Snack for the road?" A growl by Jasper silenced her into shrugging her small shoulders. "Just askin'. She smells delicious."

"No one touches her!" Jasper growled. "Is that clear?"

"Yes, Major!"

"Good!" He retreated into his threatening silence again. He was as far from the smiling young man who had been tapping his foot to music as could be imagined, aggression was rolling off him, and though it was no longer accompanied by terror as it had been before, it was clear he was not a person to cross. Consequently I was sure that no answers for my questions would be forthcoming from him in a hurry, so I closed my eyes and tried to rest so I could make at least some sense of whatever was happening here.

After a while the vampire in the front turned. "Jasper, you have to feed, you look bad. It was a wonder we could win against them the shape you're in."

"I don't want to kill."

"That one again", his friend moaned exasperatedly. "Man, I really think you should be past that by now. Ok, ok", he said at Jasper's growl. "What were you doing with the Volturi if you don't want to kill?"

"I went to them to die, but…" he stopped, and there was so much pain in his voice that I wanted to reach out and comfort him so badly, but I did not dare move. I really needed to get some answers. After a while he continued. "They did not want to do without my talent, and when I refused to cooperate voluntarily, they broke me and forced me to comply. Aro claimed that I deserved punishment for … my past."

"Bastard!" The girl from the front hissed. "What say did you have in your past anyhow?"

"And how exactly does giving you back to Maria figure in that plan I wonder", the man growled.

It sounded as if those two were good friends of Jasper.

"I have no idea", I heard the familiar southern drawl again next. "I was promised freedom if I brought the girl and that idiot boyfriend of hers back to Aro."

"Well, that was not about to happen. My sources said Maria was expectin' you, and when I tracked her close to where we found you… what could the bitch want with you?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. She must be in league with the Volturi, which explains why they've let her go on for so long. She's flying under the radar, and they tolerate her activities. Monsters!"

"At least you're free now. What do you want to do? Come to live with me and Charlotte?"

"Peter, I want you to burn me."

I swallowed hard. He wanted his friend to kill him. No. I did not want that. I had to…

"No!" Charlotte stopped the car. "You can't ask that of him. You have no idea how worried we've been about you these past thirty years, and now we've just found you again, we don't want to lose you."

"Why would I do that?" Peter's voice sounded choked.

"Because I'm asking you, and because you're the only one who can apart from the Volturi. I want to be free of this existence, of killing to survive and killing because someone recognizes me and wants a fight. I've caused enough harm. Besides, I think I'm going mad on top of everything else. I keep having these really weird… mood changes, I'm feeling all… woozy and there's anger all of a sudden, and then I notice I've done something which I can't remember..."

Hm – so the mood changes were not normal for him, interesting.

"Aha", Peter said, in a different voice now. "Burn you, ok. And what are we supposed to do with your pet here?"

"I don't know yet. I just knew I had to get her away from that place. Maria would have killed her, or worse. And her boyfriend was about to beat her to death rather than change her… he", his voice stopped unbridled fury permeated the car.

Peter cleared his throat. "And how does she feel about all that?"

Jasper snorted. "I honestly have no idea."

The car erupted with laughter, but Jasper continued unshaken: "She might be a shield, But then she's… really strange, doesn't seem to fear me, treats me like the next person. Spoke up for me and even went to protect me against that little bitch Jane. Probably she's a little… I don't know." He sounded quite sheepish.

"So what do you want to do with her?" Charlotte asked pragmatically.

"I told you, I don't know, but she should have a life, not be on the run from vampires forever. We can't get her back to the place we stole her from – too many questions, but maybe we could set her up somewhere… I don't know… at a college or with a job… and watch out for her."

"You want to play babysitter to a human?" Peter sounded incredulous.

"No, yes… oh well, I mean, how long do they live?"

I heard another suppressed giggle from the front of the car, and Peter had to clear his throat again. "I see. So we watch her grow older, get married to some loser…" A growl from Jasper. "Have his babies. Then he leaves her for some blonde after beating her up several times…" More growling. "She has three jobs to support herself and the kids for some years until she develops some human disease and dies in a hospital. Right after her funeral I'll burn you. Is that what you want?"

"I told you I don't know yet!" Jasper screamed so furiously that I started shaking. He calmed down at once, moved over and cradled me in his arms. "Shh, don't worry, darlin'. I'll make it alright. I won't let anyone harm you. Just go back to sleep, you need to rest."

Before an enormous wave of drowsiness came over me, I thought I heard Charlotte and Peter snickering like giggly teenagers. Then I must have fallen asleep.

_**Stop here in order to get the chapter out before I start on the new one.**_

_**Don't forget to review! **___


	8. Chapter 8

_**Hi everyone!**_

_**The next chapter is up (characters don't belong to me – unfortunately), and I hope you'll like it. There was some confusion about the last chapter: the vampires thought Bella was sleeping, that's why they were talking as if she was not there. Thanks for all the nice reviews!**_

8

Jasper's POV

As I held the girl in my arms I remembered something from my human days: my father had found a little bird in a field and had given it to me to hold. That's how she felt: warm, breathing, her heart beating and feeling absolutely safe in my arms, not knowing how dangerous I could be for her. And yet, a wave of satisfaction and happiness rolled over me, for the first time in more than 150 years I felt at peace. Bella did not seem to mind my coldness, she curled up to me as if she wanted to make sure she was as close as possible.

I only came back to the present when the car stopped at a motel near Albuquerque.

"Jasper?" Peter asked.

"Hm?" I was reluctant to move, eager not to break the spell I had fallen under.

"Charlotte needs to feed, and so do you. I say we get a room here for her to sleep and continue to Texas from here."

"I don't need…"

"Yea, I know, but we do, ok?" Charlotte had already gone to get the room and Peter was looking at me intently, a broad grin almost splitting his features in half.

"Why are you smiling at me like that?"

"Oh, I'm just… she's nice, isn't she?" He pointed to Bella with his chin.

"What? Bella? I guess, yes. I better get her to lie down properly and cover her up or she will catch a chill."

"A chill?" Peter was still giggling when Charlotte returned with the key. "He's worried she'll catch a chill", he told her in a mock earnest tone.

She shook her head. "He really doesn't have a clue, does he?" Peter shrugged his shoulders.

Reassessing my priorities, I ignored them, put Bella to bed and then turned my attention back to my family by venom. "Explain!" I thundered under my breath. This was as much insubordination as I was willing to face.

"Well", Peter started after seating himself in the easy chair and crossing his long legs – a posture that would have been much more convincing had Charlotte not sat down on his lap at once and cuddled up to him. "It seems you have found your mate, Major."

"Nonsense!" I had never believed the whole mate myth anyway.

"Right. Tell me, have you gotten close to her at all since you've been with her?"

"Well, I… ok, once after feeding, and I had, eh, thoughts about her, but who wouldn't…" Truth was, it had been absolutely confusing, and I was quite glad actually to be able to tell my friend about that, so I launched into a detailed description of the past few days. "But surely that's nothing to do with that… gooey-primal mating myth that's going around. I mean, she's been yelling at me and…"

Charlotte fell to the floor laughing. "Of course, nothing whatsoever. That proves everything, especially the yelling…"

"What did you get from her, and don't tell me she's a shield." Peter said, ignoring the giggling girl on the floor.

"All sorts of feelings, I told you. But she's got a boyfriend, and she wanted to be turned for him, so… Besides, what the hell could she be wanting from me? She's 17!"

"Yea, and her pretty boy? 18? 118? The one who wanted to kill her yesterday? Come on, man! Apart from that, why would she react to you at all if she's such a good shield, why would she be interested at all in protecting you against that Jane creature? Jasper, I've never had vibes that happy from you as just now when you were holding her."

I could not agree less, but there was the obvious to point out. "Yea, well, I've been out of the world for a while, you know, and a beautiful trusting young women in my lap…"

Charlotte sighed. "Men. Jasper, why would she be trusting if there was no connection between you? She just saw you dismember not only two vampires, but also her boyfriend…"

"…who had been about to kill her…"

"Ok, but at least give us a chance that we're right. It's not as if you could really get her back into the human world after this anyway." Charlotte was pouting at me and I realized that she would dearly like a female friend like Bella.

I shook my head at her. "Much as I would like that, don't you think it's madness to … get involved with someone now? I'm on the run from the Volturi!"

"Bah" Charlotte blew off my concerns but I could see Peter knew that killing the Volturi's chief tracker would not solve all my problems with our law enforcement. That did not stop him from being just as eager as Charlotte to set me up with the human girl.

"Peter, you saw how easy it was for Felix to manipulate me, use her against me…"

Char looked at her man: "What? Tell me!"

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose – a nervous human habit I can't seem to shake. I told her how Felix had stopped me from ending him and Alice. "As soon as it's out that I care about someone… and if even Felix could make it out…"

Peter laughed. "…then it must have been awfully obvious. Poor little Edward!" He continued in a more serious tone. "Jasper, it's not as if you really could hide your attachment to the girl. Besides, if she's as good a shield as it looks, that solves quite a lot of your problems, and ours too by the way."

Damn. He had played the card I had dreaded him getting out of his sleeve. Of course he was right. By rescuing me, Peter and thus Charlotte as well were implicated in my case and would only suffer if I was not alert enough to take care of them as well.

I made one last attempt to get back to my original plan: "One more reason to burn me as quick as possible…"

Charlotte snorted. "Exactly, and what do I tell Bella when she asks about you? Point out your pyre? You know she might hurt herself if she attacks us for revenge."

My face must have been horrified at the image of Bella attempting to fight against my friends, and Char was biting down laughter again. "What? Do you think she'll let us get away with hurting you?"

"You can laugh all you like; probably she thinks that a world without me in it is a better place. Remember what she's seen me do!" My mood was sinking. No one should see what Bella had seen in the past few days. But the thought of her having a bad opinion of me, being scared of the monster I was, no matter how justified, made me unutterably sad.

My friends caught on to that feeling at once and stopped teasing me. "Can we at least talk to her before I tear you apart? She might have an opinion of her own about you, one you don't anticipate; let's just hear it, ok?" Peter said reasonably. "Now, will you trust me with her and go out to feed?"

I nodded curtly and left with as much dignity as I could muster. Of course I would trust him and Charlotte with Bella. They would defend her against the whole Volturi guard for me if they needed to.

Besides, I wanted to try something for myself, for which I needed to be out alone.

Bella's POV

I woke up in yet another motel. Sighing I sat up and discovered I was only wearing my underwear. The events of the last two days were slowly coming back to me, and I was still trying to make sense of my whereabouts (once more, I just wished that that would stop sometime soon!) when the door was opened after a short knock and the vampire girl – right, Charlotte was her name – came in.

"I heard you were awake", she started.

"Mm", I made blushing and looking around for my clothes.

She caught on to my thoughts right away. "I eh… I thought you might be more comfortable sleeping in your undies, so I undressed you. I hope you don't mind." At my apparently visible sigh of relief she grinned. "No, it was me, not Jasper. He's far too… hm… let's call it confused for that."

"Confused?" I spluttered.

"I went and got you something nice to dress, these things did not look like you at all", Charlotte said ignoring my question and pointing to the chair in the corner. Some chinos and a loose peasant blouse were lying there – really pretty and my style exactly. "The other things are in the car, we can wash them at our house."

"Wait! I'm going to your house? Where is that?" Much as I liked her, especially her strong friendship with Jasper - all this was going a little too fast for me.

"In Texas, of course." As if I needed to ask.

"And I'm coming along?"

She looked at me with big eyes. "Bella, Jasper said we couldn't get you back to where they took you from, and the Volturi might be looking for you, so you would probably be safest with us. Besides, Jasper likes you, talks about you like he has never talked about a girl before. But if you absolutely don't want to stay with us…" She looked crestfallen.

I shook my head smiling. This girl was even more disarming than Alice. Which was not to say I was about to throw my lot in with people I had not laid eyes on before yesterday, even if they were good friends of Jasper, whom – had to admit to myself – I did not want to leave. I felt safer with him. Apart from that I could see her point, and after Edward's attempt at killing me, the Cullens did not look like a feasible alternative any more. "Oh alright", I sighed in mock exasperation. "Let's go with the Texan vamps this time."

A chuckling Charlotte held the clothes she had bought out to me and I got dressed. Then she took me along to a diner next door and watched me eat making amusing small talk all the time.

For the first time in days I was relaxed: it was as if I had come back home to old friends who had missed me for a long time. Peter joined us later and he turned out to be a real goof – very funny person. We were just walking back to the motel when I asked where Jasper had disappeared to.

From the look I saw Peter give Charlotte he wanted her to answer, which she did. "He has gone to feed, he was really starved, those Volturi monsters must have kept him hungry for ages…"

"… not that he'd know when to feed before", Peter interrupted her growling. When I looked scared at that he changed his voice to the patient and kind tone he had used with Jasper before. "He feels the fear and anger of his prey, and he can't bear that, which really makes his life hell for him." He smiled at me. "But at least he's got you now."

"What…" I started when Jasper himself rushed by us on his way to the motel room, which took the question right from my mind. When we got in, we heard the shower and strange noises coming from the bathroom.

Now that the light was turned on I saw Jasper's clothes, torn to shreds and bloody and my heart almost stopped. Had he gotten into a fight again already?

My frightened question was stopped by Jasper himself rushing out of the bathroom in a towel. He hugged me with worried eyes and asked: "What is it? What's happened, darlin'?"

"I thought you were hurt", I looked him over frantically. "I saw your clothes and heard the …yowls in the bathroom…" With a shock I realized I had been ogling an almost naked man who was looking quite irritated with me, and I dropped my eyes to the floor, hoping I was not blushing like mad.

"No, I… am quite alright, thank you. I encountered some, well, technical difficulties with my hunt. If you don't mind, I'll get dressed now."

He disappeared at vampire speed and only now I noticed that there was the sound of suppressed laughter again. Peter was holding on to Charlotte, squeezing out the words: "He was singing…pfrrhihi… under the shower…yowls…" When Jasper came out of the bathroom dressed in jeans and a t-shirt minutes later, Peter was wiping non-existent tears from his eyes. "We have to keep her, she's priceless."

I blinked from one vampire to the other, not happy to have become the court jester here, but Charlotte was smiling kindly at me, and Peter's laugh was infectious. Every other thought however was driven from my mind when I noticed the color of Jasper's eyes: dark topaz. Without thinking I rushed into his arms and congratulated him. "You tried it. I'm so happy for you!"

Jasper's arms went around me and I felt enveloped in love and warmth like I had never felt before. When I looked up again I saw his expression, glowing with happiness. I was sure there was no creature on earth more beautiful than him!

"Not that I'd really want to interrupt you or anything", Peter's drawling voice started next to us after a while. "but with your 'technical difficulties' it might be an idea to hoof it across the border ASAP, wouldn't you agree, Major?"

Sighing, Jasper let go of me and we got on the road again.

OK, folks, so far for tonight! Have fun reviewing


	9. Chapter 9

_**Done! The next chapter is up! Thanks for all the nice reviews, you really keep me going, even if this chapter is late again… work got in the way. Have fun reading and reviewing!**_

_**Twilight does not belong to me.**_

9

B POV

This time Peter was driving (as fast as Edward until I asked him to slow down, which he did at once without any talk about being a safe driver), the radio blaring country music and Peter singing along to it. Jasper was drunk again, it seemed. He was talking rapidly about the music and commenting on Peter's singing skills in such a funny way that we were all laughing. After a while he lay down in the back seat, his head in my lap and closed his eyes, a content smile on his face.

"Wait for it!" Charlotte turned to me and whispered conspiratorially.

"For what?" I wondered.

She winked with a broad grin, and after a moment I heard it too: Jasper was purring like an oversized cat. I bit down a laugh and started stroking his face and hair upon which the purring became louder.

In the rearview mirror I could see Peter shaking his head, grinning from ear to ear.

After some minutes, the news came on: "Police and biologists are still dumbfounded by the events that happened at Albuquerque Zoo last night. Faced with several dead animals and one dead watchman, the authorities have issued a preliminary statement to the effect that for reasons unknown the polar bear must have broken out of its enclosure and gone on a rampage, killing two antelopes before getting into a fight with several of the great cats, leaving a female lion and a leopard dead. Reports yet unconfirmed claim that the night watchman in charge placed a phone call to his colleagues at around eleven alerting them to unforeseen events. "He was all flustered", said Bob Wiley, "yelled at us that we had to come, we would never believe what he was seeing!" On their arrival at the scene though, the watchman's colleagues were met with a grisly sight: While the watchman had managed to shoot the polar bear and stopped it from causing further harm, he suffered lethal wounds. Mr. Santiago, the watchman, whose heroic act saved the city from what can only be assumed to have been a rabid predator, leaves an ailing mother."

During the broadcast Jasper had sat up and started nervously fumbling with my hair.

"Technical difficulties?" Peter asked, his eyebrows waggling.

"Well, I… Bella said the Cullens lived off animal blood, and as I can't feel anything from animals, I thought I might try if that actually works, so I went to the zoo."

Charlotte turned around and looked at her friend encouragingly.

"Yes, and I started on the antelopes… they have quite a lot of those, so I didn't think they would miss them in a hurry. But they vasted tile…" He made a face.

The others looked clueless, but I smiled. "Tasted vile, is what he means." I removed his fingers from my hair and took his hand. "The Cullens say that carnivores taste better."

He nodded energetically. "Absolutelally. I caught a whiff of the cats and… went to town on them. Those cats really tried to fight back, that's why my clothes were torn. Must have been quite a sight when I ran back." He chuckled. "I had just finished on the lioness when I heard the watchman make his phone call. I had to stop him before he said anything about a male pan… eh, a pale man sucking the beasts' blood, so…" He did not look at me, but I squeezed his hand reassuringly. "Jasper, you were hungry…"

He sighed and gave me a grateful look that could have melted the pole caps. "At least it was quick, and I did not drain him, but now I had the body, and outside the cage too, so…"

Peter shook his head and continued: "… you got the polar bear for dessert, shot it with the watchman's weapon and let everybody blame the Canadians as usually. My, my…"

Jasper nodded absentmindedly. He had pulled me onto his lap again and was inhaling my scent with closed eyes. "You smell to die for, darlin', have I told you that before?"

I nodded and curled up to him. I felt completely at home close to him, enveloped by his scent, as if it was the most natural place to be.

It was late afternoon when we stopped at a remote farmhouse which could only be reached by driving along a very rough path, which in turn you had to know about to be able to find it.

By now I really wanted to get out of the car to stretch my legs, but before I could do anything about that, Jasper swept me up and carried me inside bridal style.

"Thank you", I said when he put me down on a comfortable leather couch in front of a stone fireplace and continued cuddling me. "But you know I can walk by myself, don't you?"

"Mmmmm", was the only answer I got out of my oversized cat, and while I really enjoyed, almost needed to be close to him physically, by now I also desperately needed some time alone, not to mention some stretching to get my limbs back in gear. However how was I going to tell him? I felt kind of helpless, but when I looked up I noticed Charlotte giving Peter a look upon which he cleared his throat.

"Jasper? Hey there!"

An unwilling growl came from somewhere beneath my shoulder and his grip on me tightened.

"Hey buddy, let her go for a minute, she's not running from you the moment you look away. We need to get some provisions for the human, and you might also need some clothes of your own. Come on, let's go! Once we're done, you have all the time you want."

We had stopped for some food on the road, but essentially Peter was right. With a gigantic sigh Jasper disentangled us and promised to be back as soon as possible.

The men were gone in a flash and Charlotte chuckled at me stretching and making a beeline for the bathroom which she pointed out as soon as she saw my urgent expression.

"Phew!" I said once I was back with her, taking in the surroundings for the first time: they had taken out almost all the back wall of the house and replaced it with huge windows giving a view of a green lake surrounded by rushes. A wooden deck went out into the water directly from the house, a pair of comfortable deckchairs sat on it. The room I was standing in covered almost all the ground floor and served as the living room. It was furnished with what looked like designer bookshelves filled to overflow, old leather couches around a fireplace, the floor polished wood covered with colorful rugs. At one end was a large dining table with an assortment of mismatched chairs. The walls were decorated with what looked like design drawings, executed with beautiful precision in watercolor, but what had me gasping was the quilt hanging over the mantelpiece: it was an explosion of color and light, a celebration of life which simply made you wish for more and more days just to look at it.

"Do you like it?" Charlotte asked shyly from behind me. She had been watching me so silently that I had almost forgotten she was there.

"It's so… just full of life and energy", I stuttered, still dumbstruck by the power of the piece.

"I call it Peter and me", she said quietly.

"You made that?"

She nodded, a big smile on her face now. "We made most of what's in here ourselves: Peter likes designing furniture and then making it in his carpentry shed outside – he sells it on the internet – and I do what I learned when I was till human, only it obviously goes much faster now." She had been looking toward the dining table which – I realized now – was covered in neat stacks of fabrics and quilting equipment.

"Do you sell your stuff too?" I asked, having realized by now that the rugs were also part of her production.

"Sometimes", she said. "We don't need much money, but it helps…"

"I see", I said, wondering how vampires who were not like the Cullens managed their financial affairs at all.

"You've seen this floor", Charlotte said eagerly, "shall I show you the rest of the house?"

I nodded and she led the way up the simple wooden stairs. She pointed out her and Peter's bedroom and then went to show me a slightly dusty room empty except for bursting bookshelves with a reading lamp, a grandfather chair and an antique little coffee table.

"This is Jasper's room", she said. "We always build a room for him in our houses, even though he was gone for such a long time… We never gave up hope that he would return." She sounded choked.

"You must really like him." I felt grateful to know that Jasper had such good friends who never gave up on him.

"Peter was devastated when he did not return from his trip to Europe", she whispered, then cleared her throat. "But he's back now, and he brought you along!" She went in to open the window and air out the room. "Peter's going to make you a bed in no time – there was never any need for Jasper before and then you're all set. You can sleep on the couch downstairs tonight, or you can use our bed if you want…"

I had the feeling that she was not telling me something. "Charlotte, what is going on?"

She sighed. "Let's go downstairs, I'll get you some water…"

Knowing that there was no way to rush a vampire, I followed her back downstairs, wondering what was on her mind.

She took a glass from a cupboard in the small, obviously unused kitchen area and filled it for me before coming back to sit with me.

"Well, you noticed that Jasper is… gets very …strange when he has fed…" She did not find whatever she wanted to tell me easy, so I tried to help her. "He acts like he is drunk, I noticed that. Is that unusual?" I had not encountered that with the Cullens, but then they were definitely unusual vampires.

"It is. Drunk actually describes it quite well", she chuckled, but became serious again at once. "He is completely out of control, and he could hurt you."

"Are you saying he's dangerous for me?" I frowned. That did not sound like Jasper's friends at all.

She shook her head. "Not intentionally, no. I don't think he could really hurt you, he would be absolutely devastated if he did after just finding his mate after 150 years."

I swallowed. "He is that old?"

She nodded. "That's a story he has to tell you, but no, the problem is, that he has been starved so much, for so long with the Volturi that now he becomes drunk, with all the side-effects. You must be an excellent shield by the way."

I blinked, confounded by the turn of the conversation.

"Well, after we got here, Peter and I could feel how uncomfortable you were when Jasper wouldn't let go of you, but obviously you did not want him to know, so he did not feel it… Besides, he's not been free for thirty years, and we think that it will take some time for him to get used to that again."

I nodded slowly, understanding the problem. "Is that why Peter took him away for now?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "We thought it was better that he cool down a little. Mating can be quite… overwhelming in any case, and you don't need it complicated by an out-of-control empath who is his own man for the first time after decades."

"Mating?"

She gave me a look. "Don't tell me you haven't been feeling something pull you toward him as soon as you laid eyes on him, and who could blame you, he is a gorgeous man even for vampires."

I blushed furiously. "Oh…"

She nodded. "Yes, oh. Bella, I'm pretty sure he would never do anything you didn't want, but the way he was when we got here… He would have torn you apart."

I must have looked incredulous at that, so Charlotte laughed and put up her hands. "Ok, ok, I'm not going to say anything against Jasper near you again. And you're absolutely right, normally he is the perfect gentleman and would be embarrassed like hell if he found himself behaving otherwise. We just have to make sure, he is in control."

"How can we do that?"

"Once he has fed enough that should not be a problem, and Peter is usually quite good at dealing with him, so don't worry." She gave me another warm smile. "We both want you here, Bella, we're going to take care of you."

I sighed with relief. Trusting Charlotte and Peter was no problem. In contrast to Edward, with whom getting any information on vampires had felt like pulling teeth, they were open and direct. "Ok, how can I help?"

"Just by being here. Don't worry so much, Bella." She was inspecting her kitchen utensils. "Now, I wonder if this thing is up to date… ah", she interrupted herself. "They're coming back."

She must have heard the truck coming down the path with her improved senses and led the way to meet the men outside. "I hope they remembered to get some bedding for …" She stopped and dashed in front of me, her body tense all of a sudden.

Now I could hear it as well: There were two cars coming toward us, fast.

_**Oof – finally finished this chapter. At least I know what's going to be in the next one. ;-)**_


	10. Chapter 10

_**I hate November! Not only does it get cold and wet, but as always I manage to catch each and every virus going around. Having just about finished with the mother of all head colds plus a nice bout of sinusitis thrown in for the fun of it, I finally managed to get on paper what had been in my head for the last three weeks. Have I mentioned how much I hate this time of year?**_

_**Twilight belongs to SM**_

_**Ah – before I forget: I found a story on ff recently, a continuation of Nusain Forks's Golden Moon (one of my all-time favorites), and now I've lost it again. Can anyone help me out there? Please PM. Thank you **___

10

J POV

Oh ,boy, the people who like you most are also the ones who will hit hardest.

We had not gone far, just out of earshot when Peter laid into me. He stopped the truck and told me to get out in such clipped words that I knew he was as angry as I had ever seen him. I stood there, flabbergasted, as I had been the one who had wanted to take him to task for spiriting me away from Bella with his hissed warning about danger outside when clearly he just wanted to get out shopping – I had seen the list on the little notepad on the dashboard – Usually I just about manage to call him to order, but this time I did not get a word in edgewise:

"Don't you dare hurt li'l Bella! She's real nice and Char loves her, an' that's apart from me likin' her like a little sister."

"I would never…" No one in their right mind would hurt Bella – I would make sure of that!

"You get drunk, you big idiot, and drunks don't know what they're doin' or what they're capable of. You were about to claim her in our livin' room, and now that you're half ways sober, can you honestly tell me: would you not have torn her apart?"

The reality of what he was saying hit me like a ton of bricks. It also sobered me up in a matter of seconds. "How did you know?" I asked in a small voice.

"I have eyes in my head, besides, if you had really been yourself, you would have noticed she was gettin' uncomfortable with your single-mindedness. Call yourself an empath – huh!" He looked angry, and Peter that angry is quite a sight.

"She's a shield…" I tried, but he only scoffed. "The state you're in you are a danger. We better get you in shape soon."

"I thought you were all for me and Bella being mates", I said stubbornly and against my better judgment.

"Man, I'm over the moon you've found her, but seriously: she was with someone else until recently, she's human, you kidnapped her and dragged her around the country with a bunch of mean vampires, her boyfriend tried to kill her… Do you really think what she needs now is a horny, starved, out-of-control vampire in her bed, no matter how much she is attracted to you?" He interrupted himself. "She needs a bed… and bedding, we better get that while we're in town." He took a pencil from the dashboard and added another item to the list before placing the pencil behind his ear. "What?" He asked when I grinned.

"Cool decoration", I commented.

"Force of habit. I'll build you a bed, but you make sure she does not run from you in terror before I'm finished!"

I shook my head. "I don't know what I would do without you and Char."

"I do. Scary things. Now man up and help my run these errands or the girls will be pissed with us."

We drove to the next small town and stocked up on food and other necessities Peter insisted Bella would need in a huge store where it seemed you could buy everything.

"How come you know so much about current human needs all of a sudden? You're not that much younger than I am", I asked him puzzling about what some of those items could possibly be used for.

"I watch TV; you get some idea of what they need from there." Peter's tone made it clear that he did not exactly want to elaborate. I blinked at the feeling of embarrassment coming from my friend. Hmm, something was going on there, but I was sure I would find out some way or another.

So far we had been playing the usual vampire camouflage game – moving at human speed, not carrying too much weight at once – but when we were at the parking lot, loading up the truck with groceries and whatnot, suddenly an alarmed expression came to Peter's face. He unceremoniously lifted the shopping cart and tipped it into the car gesturing for me to get in.

I know better than to contradict my old friend when he gets like that, besides, I could sense panic from him, the kind he only feels when Charlotte is in danger. If she was, so was my Bella. We drove off without regard for any of the regulations for traffic, and though the truck might have looked nothing like it, you can trust Peter to get the best, especially if it's for moving.

We caught up with a silvery car on the lane leading to the house. Peter grabbed a shotgun from the backseat and handed it to me. "Aim for the tires!"

As if I needed to be told. I took out the tires on one side to make the car swerve into the ditch on the first attempt – shooting from a moving point has never been a problem, and compared to a horse, the truck was standing still.

We passed the wreck at high speed, but I was under no illusion that an accident like that would slow down a determined vampire and got out of the moving car to run ahead of whoever could pose a threat to the women while Peter put pedal to metal behind me, blocking the other vampire's way.

I managed to get to the house just before our opponent and took up my place in front of my mate. Charlotte had already been protecting her, but there was no way I would leave that to someone else.

B POV

When we heard shots in the distance I was close to fainting before I remembered that that could not hurt any of my new friends. As soon as I regained my balance though I noticed that I was alone with my calm. Charlotte was still as tense as she had been once we had heard the sound of the approaching cars.

A rush of relief came over me when Jasper rushed to me – at least he had not been hurt, but it faded as quickly as it had come when he got in front of me in a crouch and gave off one of his terrifying growls.

Three yards from him Edward had come to a screeching halt from running, I realized, and was facing him in a similar position. A split second later Peter was next to Jasper, ready to fight as well. The aggression in the crisp Texas air was so thick; you could have cut it with a knife. Was I about to witness yet another vampire fight? I was pretty sure Edward would not have a chance against the Texans, but the thought of Carlisle and Esme losing their son made me sad and frightened at the same time. No matter how much Edward had hurt me, the people who had taken me in like a second family did not deserve that. How I could do anything to prevent that however was beyond me.

"Stand down!" Jasper commanded quietly but got no reaction from his friends.

"Captain, I said: Stand down!" Now there was no mistaking the military commando voice and Peter as well as Charlotte straightened grudgingly.

There was no such reaction from Edward though.

"What do you want, Major?" Peter asked – none of the usual flippancy in his tone.

"Stand by; I'll call when I need you."

Peter and Charlotte nodded and walked away toward the truck, I suppose, but also, I realized, blocking Edward's exit. Charlotte hissed at my former boyfriend when she passed him, which actually made him cringe. I could tell Peter was chuckling about that from behind.

Jasper wasn't. "What do you want?" He asked in a cold voice.

"I need to talk to Bella alone", Edward answered smoothly, as if the recent standoff with three vampires against him was nothing to talk about.

Jasper shook his head curtly. "No!"

Edward gave a light smile. "Bella, what do you want?"

I took a deep breath and was about to agree that breaking off with one's boyfriend was probably best done one on one, when Jasper turned to me and coldly said "No!" again.

"What…?" I started but was interrupted by Edward: "He's got you in his clutches, he's not letting you go."

I frowned and shrugged my shoulders, so he explained. "He's just regretting he did not 'mark' you earlier when he had the opportunity", he mimicked his inverted commas and when I was still unclear, he added: "He's a wild beast, Bella, there's nothing human about him. He only wants you for himself. Did you hear the sound that feral female made at me just now?" All righteous indignation.

I felt more aggression coming from Jasper and we could all hear a deep growl from a distance. "Jasper", I said as calm as I could in an effort to defuse the situation, "Could you give us a minute here?"

"No!" The same cold voice without turning to face me.

I was confused. He was not that insensitive – unless… but no, he did not look drunk. I tried again: "But why?"

This time I got him to turn. "It makes no sense: if I just move away, I'll still be able to hear what you talk about, and if I move out of earshot, I would leave you in danger. Don't ask me to do that, darlin'!" The last words came out a pleading whisper.

"I see", I said slowly.

Edward snorted. "Lies! Look at him, Bella! That is not a creature to keep you safe!"

I swallowed. I knew what he was referring to: with his eyes completely dark and his lips curled back from his venom-dripping teeth in a snarl, Jasper was looking as dangerous as can be imagined.

"Bella, I said I was a predator, but so is he", the cold voice again.

"Surely you can tell the difference between me and… him", Edward's silken well-educated voice, "You know me, you know how we live."

Before I could say anything Jasper cut in: "The difference is that of the two of us, you're the one who tried to kill her once before and who wants her blood." I could see the tendons and muscles move in Jasper's tense back in anticipation of a fight, and this time he did not turn when he addressed me in a carefully calm voice. "Bella, let me stay, I literally can't leave you alone with him. If you agree, I'll step aside."

"Ok", I said slowly, frowning at Edward. What could he want? He had already said I was no good for him, hadn't he?

J POV

Damn that calculating schemer! He had brought out the monster in me and now he was starting to use it against me on Bella! I should simply burn him and be done with it.

"He wants to get me out of his way by killing me", Edward promptly informed her, and suddenly I felt fear from Bella. No, I can't have her fear me, please, the only creature I would never harm… this can't be happening.

A smug smile spread across his features and I realized that to win this I had to remain calm and put my trust in Bella's fondness for me. I reigned in my panic, straightened and took a few steps away from them.

"How are you?" Edward asked in a concerned voice as soon as I was no longer in his way. "Esme was beside herself with worry when they arrived and you had gone."

"They came?" Surprise, thankfulness and love came from Bella. She really liked these people. And I was tearing her away from them…

"The whole family rushed there shortly after you had left. They were right behind me, only I was faster."

I felt Bella's regret and sadness. Damn, she should never feel sad to be with me. I hissed under my breath.

Bella looked at me kindly. "Jasper, they were like family to me, I… miss them." Then she turned back to Edward. "Maybe they can come to visit someti…"

She could not finish her sentence because at that moment he exploded with fury. "Are you telling me you're staying with this monster? He stole you from your father's house, Bella, he is complicit in faking your death!" The fury was there in the tone, but strangely enough, I noticed that there were other, stronger feelings underneath: jealousy, hatred and not a little bloodlust as well as lust for her. I fought down my urge to tear him to pieces at that.

In the meantime I had heard my darlin's voice quietly telling Edward that yes, she intended to stay with me. "I can't go back to Forks, you know that, and being with your family after splitting up with you does not seem right…"

"Why would you split up with me?" Faked surprise.

Bella frowned at him. "You broke up with me, shortly before you tried to kill me." She took a deep breath to gain enough self-confidence to continue. "Edward, from the way you were… I don't think we are meant to be together… you could not have tried to murder me if you really loved me. And… I think I have feelings for Jasper…"

Edward's mask slipped for a split second, so fast that humans could not have seen it, but I could tell that now his gloves really would come off. "So you decide to take up with … this creature?" Pointing at me.

Bella squared her small shoulders and nodded, quite brave in the face of his aggressive tone which in itself made want me lash out at the bastard, but again I reigned in my instincts.

"Bella, the Volturi are after him, they'll want him back. Are you ready to just give yourself up to them when they come here?"

"They're also after all of you, and it seems they want me as well; I'm not sure that it makes a whole lot of difference where I stay in that regard, so I'd rather be here." I could tell, the whole situation was not light on my angel and hated the man who put her through that, but it turned out that we had not yet reached the end of his plan.

"Love, do you have any idea at all who this is?" he asked her in mock indignation.

Bella frowned. "You told me, Felix talked about Jasper when you and Alice arrived."

Edward snorted. "I know, but all that is not half the truth. When I told Carlisle you had been taken by… him, he knew at once who we were talking about. He was horrified. I could read his mind about this monster."

"Stop calling Jasper a monster!"

"He ripped off my arms. He stole you from home and destroyed your human future. He was a terror even to our kind these last decades…"

She waved him off. "He was their slave. You saw how they treated him; they starved him and tortured him…" She shook herself and I could feel her pain at the memory of the scene with Jane and me. "You even let them be that cruel to him. You don't know him at all."

A felt a burst of smug satisfaction from Edward for a millisecond, which I could not explain at first, then: "Bella, he did not earn his reputation from his time with the Volturi. He knew how to deal with being tortured, he knows both sides of that story. He was known for his callous cruelty way before that. Has he told you anything about his past?"

It hit me with a vengeance what Edward was planning on doing, and like the proverbial rabbit in front of the snake, there was nothing I could do about it.

When he launched into his tale of my past with Maria's army, I could not stop myself from remembering that time, which in turn gave him all the material he needed for his venomous plan. He told Bella what a newborn army was, what my role had been and how I had filled it. He recounted the cities and villages we had wiped out in the wars, how I had behaved during our raids, when I had completely given in to the bloodthirsty monster inside me in order not to feel. All my sins came out, he left nothing to the imagination, not my culling of the newborns, not the slaughter, the torture, the way Maria rewarded my services with a free choice of females…

That ingenious boy had devised a torture much more exquisite than anything Jane could have done to me. As I watched Bella grow paler and paler in disbelief and horror with the tales of blood and gore unfolded for her, unable to disclaim any of it as untrue, I closed my eyes in shame and only heard her stubborn little voice once he stopped talking from afar: "But… all that is in the past… he has changed."

"Changed?"

"He left that place. He started feeding from animals, like you do. We're staying here, with friends…" More confident now, but choked with tears she was probably too proud to shed in front of him.

"Wake up, Bella", Edward's voice had become sarcastic. "Those 'friends' are some of his old comrades in arms." He was triumphant now, about to play his ace.

Bella's eyes had widened even more and she gave a small hiccup-y yelp at that, which almost broke my undead heart.

Edward continued undeterred: "He's already gathering his own little army to fight the Volturi. He's figured out you are a shield and wants to use you. Come back with me, this is your last chance!" He took a step closer toward her holding out his hand…

…and that's when I snapped.

I pounced, to stop him from dragging away my mate at the same time he took another step. I don't know who made contact, but Bella was pushed with vampire strength and before we even collided, we both stopped short when the sweet scent of her blood permeated the air around us.

I felt Edward's bloodlust spike to a level I had not even encountered in newborns and reacted purely from instinct, throwing him off as hard as I could. Then I turned to Bella and froze: she was lying on the ground absolutely still. Blood was trickling out of a small wound on her temple, and while I could see no other injuries, it was clear that she was unconscious after being in the middle of two fighting vampires.

My pain at seeing her like this, my regret at having been the cause of it almost drove me out of my mind. I must have collapsed near her, for my next conscious memory is of Charlotte and Peter near me briefly before choking and running to get away from the scent of blood. I could not see Edward anywhere either, but what good was that when Bella was injured?

_**Phew – the longest on so far! Have fun!**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**Without further ado… the new chapter!**_

_**Twilight does not belong to me**_

11

P POV

We heard Jasper's agonized scream from afar. At the same time we were hit with his desperation, strong enough to make my knees buckle. Oh god, Bella must be dead! Charlotte and I set off running at once to get to him.

I got there first, Char coming up a close second, but unfortunately, we both had to leave: Bella was bleeding, and with Jasper protecting her and snarling at any other vampire coming close, there was nothing we could do. At least she seemed to still be alive, though injured. How we were going to get out of that particular scrape, I had no idea.

Before we could get too far away from the house, we noticed a car coming closer at high speed and seconds later, a sleek black Mercedes raced into our yard. It had not quite stopped when a small, caramel-haired female vampire jumped out and approached Jasper and Bella with a determined face.

Hot on her heels came a blonde male, a black medicine bag in his hand.

Jasper growled, and though the woman flinched for a split second, taking in the growl and his scars, she did not turn back. Oh dear, that did not look good, but I would give the small woman credit for guts. To approach the Major in his current state of mind was quite something for somebody her size.

The male had stopped in his tracks and put out a placating hand. "Esme, no! He's dangerous, he thinks he's protecting her." Then he took a deep unneeded breath and addressed Jasper directly: "Please, I don't know how to address you, but we mean no harm. We can help her."

The woman ignored the warning and pushed out her chin to face Jasper. "That is my daughter who is lying there injured, mister; she needs a doctor, and you will let Carlisle to her, so help me god!"

I'm not sure Jasper heard anything of what she said, but something about the emotions she was giving off made him hesitate in attacking her.

"Major", I cried out, suddenly remembering something completely absurd I had heard ages ago, "Carlisle Cullen is a doctor, let him take a look at her."

J POV

The woman's feelings of motherly love hit me even through my haze of panic and desperation. It was clear that she would not harm Bella, just the opposite. From the man with the bag I got only compassion and also love for the extraordinary human girl that was lying on the ground unconscious. When Peter called the all-clear, so to speak, I stepped back a little to let him close. I had sensed more vampires in the car though, so I was still wary. A minute later, a canary-yellow Porsche swerved to stop next to the other car and Alice and Felix got out. The tiny vampire clapped her hand across her mouth and gave off a desperate sobbing noise while the tall Volturi went to her to comfort her. Peter frowned but he and Charlotte made sure, no one would get anywhere near us.

"What happened?" Carlisle asked in a professional voice while checking Bella's pulse and pupils.

I told him and noticed that regret was added to the cocktail of feelings coming from the pair.

"What about that wound?" He asked, pointing to Bella's temple where the drying blood had formed a trace to her neck.

"It… she was bleeding… and with so many… I closed it up with a little venom. I'm sure it could not have done any damage. Why is she still out?" To my consternation I noticed that my fear for my mate was getting the better of me and I felt incredibly weak and powerless, something I'm not used to. Growling at this pair of vampires who behaved liked parents of a sick child seemed absolutely wrong anyway.

"I'm sure you were just trying to help, and that sounds like a good idea, doesn't it, honey?" Esme turned to her mate, and at the same time I noticed her running her fingers through my hair like a mother calming down a small child. I frowned and saw Carlisle giving her a look at which the touch stopped.

"I think my wife is right, blood loss would have been one complication we can certainly do without." Carlisle straightened and put his tools back in his bag. "I'm pretty sure it's just a concussion – she knocked her head hard on the floor", he added when I did not understand. "But I'd like to take her to a hospital for x-rays and an MRT to check for swelling, just in case." Before I could get my words together to tell him my mate was going nowhere without me, he smiled. "Of course you can come along, and I'll make sure that you can take her back if everything's alright. Can you go to a hospital without causing a riot?"

I gave him a stare and picked up Bella. He led the way to the Mercedes, but before we reached it, Peter opened the back doors and complimented the two remaining vampires out. "I'm sure you wish to keep Esme company while we wait here for Jasper's return", he told them, and I gave him a thankful smile: Trust my Captain to never lose his head in a situation like that: Keeping the rest of Carlisle's family at the farm would make sure we would return.

The feelings I got from all of his coven were those of regret and sadness as well as concern about Bella. The tall brawny male who had gotten out of the backseat looked as if he was close to tears. Strange, but I had more pressing things to keep my attention.

Carlisle drove us to the closest hospital at breakneck speed and managed to claim the emergency ward and its equipment by the combination of dazzling and routine that comes with being an ancient vampire. He sequestered the help of a nurse and after less than an hour we had Bella in a bed in a private room where he had told me to wait.

It looked as if she had woken up some time during the exam and had been indignant about having been brought to hospital, but Carlisle's gentle professionalism had prevented her from running. From the look of amusement on his face at that I could gather that they had had the same experience before and wondered just how accident-prone my darling was.

He must have read my thoughts: "She's got a hard head, but I already knew that about Bella." He smiled down at her with a look of fatherly love.

Now she noticed me in the room – I had had to become absolutely still and stop breathing, otherwise the scent of blood and humans would have been too much – and gave me a radiant smile. "Jasper!" She put so much love into that one word that I almost keeled over. How had I ever earned that? I was with her in a split second and held her carefully, breathing in her scent and relishing the feeling of her small warm body next to me.

With a subtle clearing of his throat Carlisle called us back to reality after a while. "She has a concussion, like I suspected, and she also managed to sprain her ankle, so you might have to carry her around for a while", he said quietly and signed the clip-board assigned to Bella with a flourish. "I'll hand this in, then we can leave once she is dressed again."

"Carlisle!" Bella called him back.

"Yes?"

"I'm happy you came for me, but I need to …", she swallowed hard. "I need to talk to you. Alone."

I felt panic rising and tried to reign it in, but she gave my hand an gentle squeeze. "It won't take long."

I nodded and decided I would leave the room but stay close. Somehow the Cullens seemed too good to be true, and I had already had my share of Edward.

Carlisle's expression told me that he suspected what I was doing, but he did not seem to mind. Besides, if he did, he could simply tell Bella.

I stepped outside the room and sat down on a chair in the hallway.

After a minute Bella's voice came through. "Carlisle, I can't… I don't want to see Edward again. Ever!"

"I know…"

She interrupted him at once. "I'm so sorry to leave you all, but after…" I heard her take a deep breath. "I want to stay with Jasper."

I was sure that my dead heart did something at that sound and was so surprised that I almost missed what was said next.

"We already thought that", Carlisle said, sadness in his voice. "Alice told us what Edward tried to do to you, and I can't tell you how angry we were. Emmett and Esme were ready to tear him apart when we arrived. He only got away because he is so fast."

I could feel Bella's confusion and wondered what that was about when she continued speaking. "Ah, that… no, that wasn't what I meant. Carlisle, he had Jasper tortured by that evil little girl, he knew what he was doing and…" I could hear that tears were choking her voice, but I wanted to let her finish her conversation with the other man. "He did the same thing again when he came today; he hurt Jasper, and I can't stand that. How can he be so cruel to another person?"

I heard rustling and was sure that the doctor had embraced her to comfort her. I felt no jealousy for him whatsoever – his love for her was much too pure for that.

When he talked next, his voice sounded as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders: "I can't tell you how disappointed I am in my elder son, Bella, I'm sure you can imagine how much grief his actions caused in our family. We had a vote and for the next time Edward is not a member of our family any longer. So if you want to be with us, you are more than welcome."

"Oh Carlisle!" Bella's voice was broken. "I'm so sorry for you; I can see how much that must have cost you…"

"It was a step too far. He brought you into our world, and… well, let's say, none of us wanted to be with your killer. And from what you told me now as well as from Alice's words I can see that you clearly were not meant to be his mate."

"No, you're absolutely right. Whatever I felt for him was so different to what Jasper makes me feel like…" She interrupted herself. "I know that you only know bad things about him, but I'm sure that's not all he is, and…"

"Bella, Alice said that he went out of his way to make you safe while you were with the Volturi, and I'm sure that he literally cannot lie about his feelings for you. Shall I get us out of here now?"

She must have nodded, because he came out at once and left in the direction of the reception desk.

I zoomed into the room and held her once again. Apparently I had been a bit too quick about my return, because she gave me an amused smile: "Nosy much?"

Before I could say anything though, she continued curling up to me and I was distracted until Carlisle's return and our exit from the hospital.

I was silent in the car on the ride back. Much as I wanted to just lose myself in my love to Bella, there were quite a lot of thoughts going around in my brain: Clearly there was much more to the Cullens' idea of family than just a coven of vampires – this was not a mere gathering of predators to make the hunt easier or more interesting.

Apart from that, we really had to consider our future. Aro – I was positive about that – would not take being cheated out of some coveted new talents lightly.

_**Thanks for reading!**_

_**Btw… in case you have not read it: ElleCC's A murmur of fire in the veins is a great J/B story – definitely recommend it!**_


	12. Chapter 12

_**Hi folks!**_

_**This chapter was a real pest to write, and all your wonderful reviews could not make it easier. They did however serve the purpose that I finally managed to get at least some part of it written down and publishable – I hope.**_

_**Anyway, enjoy!**_

12

J POV

All in all the day was almost gone by the time we got back to Peter's house, and no one protested when I carried Bella upstairs to my friends' bedroom.

I put her down on the sturdy four poster bed which Charlotte must have dressed in crisp white linen for my darling. She was still pale, but looked as beautiful as ever, and her conversation with Carlisle had given me some confidence about her feelings for me. True, I was an empath, but still – for all his bad intentions, Edward had been right: I was a monster, who should make anyone run for their lives rather than make them stay with me. In addition to Bella's divine scent the room gave off a faint smell of lavender, and I remembered having seen some of the plants outside in the little garden which could be seen through the window.

Bella smiled up at me with such love and trust that I swear warmed me all over.

"Do you want me to leave you alone, or do you need help…" I caught her as she was about to fall down again. While I had been ruminating, she must have tried getting up and stepped on her ankle which caused her to gasp with pain and lose balance in the attempt of hopping on one foot. I took a deep breath: "You will be the death of me, woman! I was just about to ask you if you needed help undressing!"

She bit her lip and pouted at me. "I've been undressing on my own for quite a few years, Sir!" When she also started blushing at the idea of me taking off her clothes at the same time that she was oozing lust while I had her in my arms, I was done for. All thoughts of her being a fragile human who had just been through the ordeal of almost being in between two fighting vampires were wiped from my brain and the monster took over. Our clothes were gone in a flash, and I was in the bed with her. I covered every bit of her satiny hot body, made sure to touch everything with my hands and mouth. I was claiming my mate greedily, burning up with passion and the need to make one being of the two of us. I only stopped when she begged for me to do so and fainted.

I came back to my senses, horrified at what I had done.

Peter's POV

Jasper had carried Bella to our room some hours ago, so that she could rest. Then all at once we were hit with a huge wave of lust – not the kind of feeling the Major would usually give off so generously; and most of the couples disappeared. I stopped Esme from rushing upstairs by placating her with the sentence that he would not hurt his mate, and she took me at my word, flitting away hand in hand with Carlisle for some privacy.

For all my assurances though, I was not ready to leave and stayed with Charlotte on my lap giving me hell until I took her outside to my workshop. We really have to think about what to do if this is what it gets like with a mated empath.

Anyway, we were very cosy when the blonde bombshell found us and cleared her throat in the doorway.

"What is it?" I hissed, not happy to be disturbed at that particular moment. My little blonde vixen actually hissed at the interruption, and it was a tribute to Rosalie's courage that she stayed.

"I – eh – found your friend. I went to your upstairs bathroom to sort out my hair and… something's wrong with him. He is lying on the floor naked and… it looks like he's dead."

I was alert at once. "What?" I pushed past her and dashed up the stairs, Charlotte on my heels. Blondie was right. Jasper was curled up near the tub, not breathing, dead to the world. What the hell could be the matter with him? "Carlisle?" I called and a second later the blond vampire doctor was in the room with us, shaking his head in wonder.

By now I could hear the others had returned as well. There was a commotion on the stairs, then the huge Volturi was with us, nodding his head knowingly. "Yes, he does that," he said in a sad voice.

"Does what? What is going on?" I was ready to shake him like a rat, blindly disregarding that he might not be willing to put up with that, but Jasper's behavior certainly had me panicking.

"Shut down like that. He was like that for years in Volterra, basically he was like that in the tower all the time, unless we unleashed him…"

"…which was why he would go berserk," Charlotte added dryly. "How could you treat anyone like that?"

Felix shrugged his shoulders. "I … it was nothing we did. He would just …curl up when he was locked up… I mean, he could have simply joined the Guard…"

"He feels dead inside, because he's done bad things", a flat sounding voice said from the doorway.

I looked up and saw Rosalie whose eyes were brimming with venom. The big brawny male was embracing her lovingly. "Shh, it's all right, Rosie."

"No, it's not", she said quietly. "He feels like I felt after…"

Something really bad must have happened to that girl before she was turned, and I wondered if that was why she was giving off such a cold shoulder to the rest of the world when Charlotte interrupted my thoughts with a cry. "Bella!" She struggled through the group of vampires and rushed to our bedroom, coming back almost at once. "No, sleeping."

Strange. I shook my head to clear it, and signaled to the others that I'd like to be alone with my friend. Some way or other I had to get the Major back into working order, after all, we had the Volturi on our trail.

"Major Whitlock!" I called him, hoping that his military reflexes which had survived the change to vampire would also work with this kind of sleep/depression, whatever it was.

He snapped to attention, but it was clear at once that he was in full fighting mode, ready to tear me to bits. The monster was out in full force.

"Jasper!" I screamed. He stopped in mid-rush and put his head to one side as if to listen. Then he caught sight of himself in the mirror and frowned.

"Care to explain what's going on?" I asked casually, surer now that I would survive this confrontation with my brother in arms.

When he turned to me again, it looked like he literally deflated; all life seemed to go out of him.

"Jasper, it can't be as bad as that!" I said, shocked at how much pain he looked to be in.

He shook his head. "I … Bella…" He stopped as if simply talking about it was too much.

I blinked. What we had heard from upstairs had not sounded as if there was cause for concern on that front, just the opposite, the sounds Bella had been making had almost been enough for any male downstairs to thoroughly embarrass themselves in front of their mates. "Yes?" I asked encouragingly.

He squirmed. "I should have listened to you, but then… she said she loved me in the hospital, and that she wanted to stay with me rather than go anywhere with the Cullens. Oh god, she was injured and I forced myself on her like the beast that I am…"

"Eh – let me assure you, it did not sound like you forced her to do anything…"

He snorted contemptuously. "Of course not, she must have been hit by my… damn this projecting thing. Peter, I just behaved … how can she ever look at me again? Now she will run from me…"

"Well, at the moment she's …"

He did not let me finish. "I know, she's unconscious again, we should get Carlisle to take another look at her, after which he will surely take her away from me for good."

"Aha, would you mind putting on some clothes before that, you're…"

He ignored my banter. "And the big brother will kill me." His eyes met mine. "Let him, Peter, it's best if I don't wreak any more havoc on this earth."

I was still thinking how to react to his latest outburst at depression when the door almost buckled under Emmet's fist. "I'm coming in. I don't care how big and bad you are, if you hurt Bella, I'll…"

"Can you all pipe down a little?" Charlotte could be heard above the din. "The human is trying to sleep!"

"She'd love to, but it's far too loud in here," Bella's grumbling voice sounded as if she'd just been woken and Jasper and I butted heads in our hurry to get through the bathroom door at the same time. Strangely her door was still closed, but her voice continued. "Looks as if this place is vampire central for quarrels, damnit, and I was just dreaming so good…"

By that point Charlotte had started giggling and we realized that Bella thought she was just talking under her breath to herself. I signaled to everybody to go downstairs to give the human some time to sleep – we all had heard that she must be exhausted after all.

When I looked around downstairs though, I saw Jasper was not with us anymore and the front door was open.

Oh no, Whitlock, you're not getting away from me while you're in this mood. I followed his trail to the lakeside where I found him looking into the water.

"…and the worst thing is, it felt absolutely right, like nothing ever has before."

"I know", I started. I knew what he was talking about, life without Charlotte did not seem possible any longer once I had met her, but it felt downright absurd as soon as I had actually slept with her.

Jasper got up in a fluent movement and turned to go. "I'm leaving. Just get her set up somewhere in her world. No vampire will touch her or harm her, I marked her thoroughly." His tongue was dripping self-disgust.

"And just where do you think you're going?"

His shoulders slumped. "No idea", he whispered so quietly that without my vampire hearing I could not have made out his words.

"If that's the case you might want to stay here at least for a talk on how to proceed in this whole thing. Char and me are involved as well as those Cullens, who – to speak frankly – are far too good to be left alone in our world. Leave tomorrow if you're that insistent about it."

He closed his eyes and rubbed his face only to follow me back inside.


	13. Chapter 13

Guys, you know what? I'm going to post this chapter even though it's so short, but the fact of the matter is, that something new is going to happen which has nothing to do with this, and I'll probably take even more time to write that one, so…

Here you are!

13

B POV

I had never given much thought to losing my virginity. In fact, it had been so far from my mind because no boy had been interested in me before I came to Forks that I had almost come close to subscribing to Jane Austen's ideal of purely romantic love expressed by looks across a room. Granted, as soon as I had seen Edward, a much more base instinct had kicked in, but he had made it absolutely clear that ours was to be a chaste relationship, at least until he turned me, which he was not planning on doing anyway that my brief sensual excitement had soon be dulled.

With Jasper however it had been different from the beginning; the way I felt drawn to him – almost primal in its intensity – had nothing to do with Edward's chaste Victorian ideas about women, and now that we had actually been together I knew which I preferred – not that that had needed any reassurance. The way he had worshipped my body with his had made me feel complete, wanted and confident in my own skin for the first time in my life. His husky voice giving me sexy commands encouraging me to let go alone would have been enough to send me over the edge into blissful oblivion, but it turned out that he was relentless in his lovemaking, so much so, that in the end I could not take any more and simply dropped off to sleep exhausted. Yet still my dreams were filled with the sensation of him inside of me, the expression on his face when he screamed out his release, his whole body shuddering with pleasure, only to become hard again instantly. It had seemed that for all my physical exhaustion I could not get enough of his gorgeous body either; and I would never have expected to be so bold with a man the first time.

When the noise from outside woke me up I was really annoyed at being ripped from my dreams, but as soon as I was fully conscious and realized that Jasper was not with me, a wave of panic hit me and I started calling his name.

P POV

Another experience I've not had before was about to unfold. At one moment Jasper had been grudgingly ready to go back inside and plan our proceeding, the next he zoomed off toward the house as fast as I'd ever seen him move.

By the time I caught up, he had literally run down several vampires – new to them as well and had disappeared upstairs. My raised eyebrows at Charlotte – usually much quicker in catching up to what might be going on – had only resulted in the cryptic answer "He was projecting panic like mad."

For once I was quicker on the uptake: Bella must have woken up and started worrying where he had gone.

J POV

Whatever decisions I had come to in the past few moments, they were all swept away when I felt Bella's fear. As if drawn to a magnet I homed in on her and found my darling sitting on the bed with huge worried eyes.

At breakneck speed I systematically scanned the room for possible dangers before I registered what she was saying.

"Jasper! Where did you go? I can't go to sleep without you here!"

I tried not to show my shock when I heard that and scrambled into bed with her, but kept my distance. She was still naked, her skin rosy and giving off a scent fit to drive me right out of my mind.

"What's wrong?" she asked at once, the panic returning.

I hung my head, not knowing how to explain that I had been a wild beast with her and enjoying every minute of it.

She tilted her head and looked at me. "Now don't you dare tell me that this is about you hurting me, because that is where you're wrong. Did I seem to be hurting to you when we were together?"

Oh boy, she was telling me off like my grandma used to do. "No, but with my talent I thought…"

"Nonsense!" she snorted. "I know what I felt. I've never felt anything more real and good in my life…"

"You'll be black and blue all over tomorrow…" I ventured to give my opinion – I should have known it was no use, I had heard Charlotte and Peter argue before after all.

"Pff!" she made. "I think I was that before, besides, I'm quite used to the feeling, and usually it does not come with so much pleasure." She patted the space next to her with a determined expression and I found myself complying. Then she curled up to me in a way that made me want to start all over again, and as soon as I realized she was feeling the same, I made love to her again, careful and tender this time, and the feeling of absolute satisfaction and content returned. Afterwards she sighed and went to sleep in my arms. I swear I was crying.


End file.
